Service-Learning VIP: Noah

Lake Forest Academy Fills the Bookshelves

"Our group 'Fill the Shelves' had one clear mission statement. We wanted to spread awareness about the issue of illiteracy. In our society, it is very important to be able to read and write properly and it is a basic skill. We decided to support an elementary school with new or gently used children’s books because we know kids need books to be successful in school. We also have heard that many kids have no access to their own books at home. Since LFA already had contacts with AJK elementary school in North Chicago, we decided that this would be the school we support with the books. We put out boxes in our school and announced our book drive many times, so we got over 500 books together ready to ship out for A J Katzenmaier school, where more than 80 percent qualify for the free and reduced lunch program. We think that our actions were successful, if you look at the amount of books we collected. The school was delighted to receive them on May 1st when they were delivered. We would like to hear from others who had successful book drives at their schools. "

- Noah S., Lake Forest Academy, Lake Forest, IL