Coweta County School System pre-Kindergarten children are receiving an extra gift of new books, thanks to the Ashley Park Barnes & Noble store and local book-lovers.
The Newnan store delivered 2,200 books to the school system’s pre-K program, which had been donated by store customers in November and December during the Barnes & Noble’s Holiday Book Drive. The books are being given to the Coweta County School System’s 550 Pre-K students and 25 Pre-K classes this week, and each student will receive a book of their own to take home.
“This is wonderful,” said Coweta County School System Pre-Kindergarten Director Lisa Copeland, thanking Barnes & Noble Community Business Development Manager J.C. Barb for the drive and the donation. “We appreciate this support for our students, and appreciate everything you are doing to support literacy and reading.”
Barnes & Noble’s annual Holiday Book Drive gives customers the opportunity to donate books to local non-profit organizations, and provided more than 1.5 million books to over 650 local charitable organizations that provide services to children across the country this year. Newnan’s Barnes & Noble has participated for several years, and decided to focus on the school system’s pre-K classes in 2015 with the goal of putting a book into every student’s hands and distributing them to classrooms.
“The response was really great,” said Barb. The store exceeded its goal of raising 2,000 books, with some customers making multiple donations. The stacks of books given to Pre-Kindergartners cover a wide variety, said Barb, including lots of Dr. Seuss, titles from the Golden Books series, and children’s classics.
“We had many customers who were happy to donate to students, and would contribute and ask us to pick one for them,” said Barb. “But I also saw so many customers who wanted to donate a particular book. They really enjoyed giving students something that has meant a lot to them or to their children.”
The Newnan Barnes & Noble supports several community and school efforts throughout the year, including teacher appreciation weeks, school book fairs, STEM and spirit nights, chorus appearances and other events.
Dean Jackson – Press Release – Coweta County Schools
