February 2014
COMMUNITY NEWS
RenfrewCollingwoodCommunityNews.com
Books for Me! fosters the joy of reading at Graham Bruce Elementary school Literacy foundation builds new partnership in Renfrew-Collingwood by Julie Cheng “Thank YOU!” The heartfelt, joyous chorus of the students was music to the ears. As the grade 4/5 students filed out of the room, each clutching a book provided free of charge by Books for Me!, Mary Ann Cummings beamed. “It’s really wonderful to see how excited these kids are,” she said. Mary Ann is the president and a founding member of Books for Me! Literacy Foundation, a Vancouver-based charity that puts donations of new or gently used books directly in the hands of children. Mid January, Mary Ann, Books for Me! secretary and co-founder Dana Hirst, first-time volunteer Mai Doan, along with teacher-librarian Dee Mochrie and principal Lani Morden, were on hand to deliver the first batch of books to Graham Bruce Elementary School students. A retired lawyer, Mary Ann saw the importance of literacy first hand when she worked with prison inmates as a law student. “I became convinced literacy is the key—you need to have those skills to prosper in society,” she said. Indeed, you could say supporting children’s literacy is one of the best Grade 1 students Matthew and Derek (left to right) proudly display the books they chose to take home with them. “The cover is very cool,” says Matthew. “I think this book is good,” says Derek. Photo by Julie Cheng
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