Linda Morriss, president of Assistance League of Hemacinto, and Action Week chairman Toni Martes show a cardboard container that the new donated school books can be deposited at many local businesses, city halls, restaurants and other facilities in the Hemet and San Jacinto area.
Linda Morriss, president of Assistance League of Hemacinto, thanks parents and students for their participation in the kick off the the “Hands Around the Hemet Library,” Wednesday, Jan. 30, in front of the Hemet Public Library.
Students, firefighters, police officers and ladies of Assistance League of Hemicinto joined hands to stretch across the front of the Hemet Library Wednesday, Jan. 30, to kickoff a monthlong effort to collect new books for Hemet and San Jacinto elementary and middle school students.
Assistance League members, library staff and Hemet firefighters along with the Hemet High School Band greeted a several busloads of elementary school students, some with new books in hand, in front of the Hemet Public Library that afternoon for the special event.
“Today is the kickoff for a monthlong project to collect new books for reading, for children in kindergarten through eighth grade. We will be giving those books to the individual schools to hand out to students,” Linda Morriss, president of the Assistance League of Hemicinto, said. “We want to have the books in hand for students to take home and read.”
She said Assistance League of Hemacinto and others across the nation are dedicated to improving literacy in children and the local chapter is participating the national Assistance League program called “Action Week,” dedicated to that end to be celebrated Feb. 25 to March 1.
“Our own personal mission is to transform the lives of children and our adults in our community through our programs,” she said. It is one of three each year.
The most popular of the programs is “Operation School Bell®” when the Assistance League provides stipends for new clothes and shoes for needy school children to shop at local stores at the beginning of each school year.
The theme chosen for the local chapters Action Week book drive is “Hands Around the Hemet Library.” Part of the ceremony Jan. 30 was for the students, teachers, firefighters, police officers, some library workers and the ladies of the Assistance League to join hands around the library building to show the unity in collecting the nearly 1,000 new books needed for the project.
At the end of the ceremony, many of the students and parents participating dropped new books into a cardboard container for collection March 1.
Hemet and San Jacinto residents will find the Assistance League Children’s Book Drive boxes in the Hemet and San Jacinto city offices, restaurants and many businesses throughout the community. The books, according to Morriss, should be new and age appropriate for children from kindergarten through the eighth grade. The collected books will be provided to the different schools during Assistance League Action Week. The school site representative will hand them out to the students to take home and read.
“Hands Around the Hemet Library.” children’s book drive new book drop-off boxes may be found at: Downtown Deli and Coffee Company, El Jalapeno Mexican Restaurant, Emilio’s Mexican Restaurant, Four Seasons, Golden Village Palms RV Resort, Hemet City Hall, Hemet/San Jacinto Chamber of Commerce. La Fogata Restaurant, Panorama Village, RK Salon and Spa, San Jacinto Chamber of Commerce, San Jacinto City Hall, Seven Hills Clubhouse, Shear Concepts, Simpson Center, Starbucks at State Street and Stetson Avenue, Sylvan Learning Center, Village Retirement Community and other locations throughout the San Jacinto Valley.
Assistance League of Hemacinto Hands Around the Hemet Library project chairman is Toni Martes, TMartes@yahoo.com.
