UD students give books to kids in need

Heyward Brock, professor of English at UD, reads to kids at the Latin American Community Center in Wilmington.

4:24 p.m., Dec. 12, 2005--It was pizza, punch, poetry and prose Dec. 9 at Wilmington’s Latin American Community Center (LACC) when neighborhood kids from kindergarten to eighth grade received an early holiday gift. Each got to pick a book hand delivered by UD’s McNair Scholars, University Undergraduate Scholars and members of La Raza and HOLA who joined forces last month to sponsor a children’s book drive.

More than 2,000 children’s books were collected on campus and in Newark, Nov.1-Dec.1, at drop-off locations in Christiana Commons, Perkins Student Center, Memorial Hall, the Trabant University Center and Lieberman's bookstore. Money for the drive was raised at a two-night "Sponsor-A-Children's Book" event allowing students to donate a dollar then select a book and write an inspirational message inside.

Student volunteers delivered about 100 books to LACC, bought the kids pizza and punch, read them a story and then let them select their gift.

The remainder of the books will be distributed to children in Delaware and New York, and to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

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