Students at New Ellenton Middle STEAM Magnet School will be booked up for the holidays – with reading material.
On Monday, each student in the school received a new book from every possible genre: fiction, nonfiction, classics, graphic novels, history, anime, biography, Spanish language, romance and sports – lots of sports. The goal? Not only to encourage literacy but also for the students to start or add to their own personal libraries.
The Rev. Edgar Foster with his wife, Andrea, and members of the Grace Covenant Church of God on Main Street in New Ellenton raised $2,600 to buy more than 400 books, and Fran Bush, owner of the former Booklovers Book Store in Aiken, and her husband, Don, ordered them.
“We've been doing a big literacy push at our school. We want our students to read,” said Karen Matthews, who teaches Read 180 and social studies at New Ellenton Middle and organized the project.
To encourage reading, Matthews wanted to hold a book fair but knew some students probably could not afford to buy books. So she called Foster, her pastor, and asked if members of the church, who live in the New Ellenton community, might donate money to buy a book for every student.
“He thought it was a great idea,” Mathews said.
Foster, whose church also has purchased hoodies for students and helped families in need at New Ellenton Middle, said his congregation is committed to investing in the community, the schools and children.
“We want to be a redemptive influence in our community,” he said. “We want the children to know that God loves them and we love them.”
With the money to buy the books in place, Matthews called her friend, Fran Bush, and asked if she could order them. Matthews had told the students the school would hold a special book fair and gave them a survey asking them to list their favorite genres or specific books they wanted to read.
“We tried as best we could to get those books for each child,” Matthews said. “Fran was extraordinarily helpful in finding them for us. I've taught probably 90 percent of the students here, so being able to match books to their personalities was really fun.”
READ THE COMPLETE AIKEN STANDARD STORY HERE. (Aiken Standard Photo by Larry Wood)