Student organizations to host children’s book drive on all campuses

As the end of the fall semester draws near and the holidays inch closer, many student organizations have begun brainstorming how they can help those in need. Austin Community College's Silver Star Children's Literacy Group have come up with an idea to help area children.

Silver Star is partnering with Phi Theta Kappa to collect books for the Travis County Sheriff's department's Brown Santa program.

During the weeks leading up to the end of the semester, Silver Star will place donation bins at all campuses to allow students to donate new or gently used children and adolescent literature, which will then be turned over to the Sheriff's Department and delivered to the homes of children in need, through the Brown Santa program.

Only four members attended the Silver Star coordinating and planning meeting which took place Nov. 11. The low member turnout reflects one of Silver Star's challenges this semester.

"Out of the 16 members we had last year, all but three graduated, so we had to pretty much start over from scratch," David Lauderback, faculty adviser and ACC history professor, said.

Silver Star President Marcos Larios plans to transfer to the University of Texas at Austin next semester.

"We definitely need book donations," Larios said, "but what we also need is student volunteers to act as campus managers, to help monitor donation boxes and help get the books from the campuses to the Sheriff's office."

Larios helped create and launch Silver Star through his membership with the Center for Student Political Studies.

"I didn't start school until late," Larios said. "I pretty much taught myself beforehand

with textbooks and journals. I guess that's why I have such an interest in children's literacy."

Larios' interest in getting children to read is evident in past Silver Star programs, such as Literacy Circle. In this program, ACC students not only collected children's books, but then visited local recreation centers and schools, and had children read to them, promoting a fun and engaging learning atmosphere.

Past book drives have collected over three thousand books per event.

The organization is hoping to collect enough books by Dec. 1 in order to have them turned over to the Sheriff's Department in time for them to delivery to children's homes for the holidays. Those wishing to contribute to Silver Star's book drive can look for donation bins in campus libraries, police offices and campus manager's offices.