Last month, in response to the COVID-19 crisis and through a partnership with Scholastic Books, Assistance League of Northern Virginia provided hundreds of new books to elementary school children in Manassas, Alexandria, and Springfield. The books were distributed to students through school staff who worked hard to get them to the children who needed them most. Some books were hand delivered to homes, some were mailed, some were placed in “little libraries” at the schools, and others were made available in front of the schools.
As part of its Operation School Bell program, Assistance League of Northern Virginia has a Literacy program through which it tutors students who need extra help with reading, and also provides new books to elementary school children at no cost to them. For many of the students touched through the Literacy program, these are the first new books they could call their own and the only children’s books in their homes. Assistance League’s goal in June was to keep kids reading during the summer when they had no access to public libraries or school classrooms!
The heartwarming smiles of the grateful recipients can’t be seen through their masks, but they were very happy to receive the new books.
Assistance League of Northern Virginia is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization. Its members are still caring and always helping. www.alnv.org
