KATE SCHWARTZ
Staff Writer
The Pepperdine Volunteer Center has provided yet another simple way for Pepperdine students, faculty and families to get involved in their community. This year, Pepperdine was chosen as one of seven schools nationwide to compete in First Book’s “Click for Literacy” challenge.
First Book is a national non-profit organization that provides children of low-income families with their first books. Since its foundation in 1922, it has distributed more than 40 million books to children around the country.
The “Click for Literacy” Challenge is an online competition that began Monday and will last through Saturday. Students who want to participate can go to theliteracysite.org and click the big red button that says ‘Fund Books for Kids’.”
Members of the Pepperdine community have assembled a Campus Advisory Board through First Book to get involved with the literacy mission. The advisory board contains 10 members, both students and faculty.
Schools that create Campus Advisory Boards receive an initial grant of Scholastic Community Starter Books and have the potential to raise up to 2,000 books per year from the First National Book Bank.
Junior Sara Ashmore, chair of the First Book Advisory Board said, “By having an advisory board, it allows Pepperdine to participate in theliteracysite.com competition.”
By creating a board, Pepperdine also received the opportunity to receive 500 books with their winnings to donate to the organization of their choice.
By simply clicking the button you can help raise books for needy children and also bring Pepperdine one “click” closer to winning the competition and affecting hundreds of children.
The other colleges participating include schools such as Rhodes College, University of Wisconsin, and the University of Idaho. There are three schools in the west coast competition. The winner will go on to compete the winning east coast team.
The school that acquires the most “clicks” will receive $1,500 to purchase books for children in its own community.
By using their simple “click” method, The Literacy Site and First Book funded a total of 880,712 books in the year 2005 alone. With the help of Borders Book Store, they hope to receive even more this year.
“It is an easy and practical way for Pepperdine students and their families to help out,” Ashmore said. “ The cool thing is that not only students can click. Parents, friends, faculty and anyone that has an interest can click from any computer.”
Clicks are limited to one computer per 24 hours.
In addition to their involvement with Firstbook and helping the children of low-income families nation-wide, Pepperdine has chosen to directly assist the Jumpstart program on campus. “We saw the need in places such as Claremont and Los Angeles that Jumpstart was helping and knew that we could help,” Ashmore said.
Jumpstart is a program on campus that pairs students with preschoolers in early-learning programs. The students provide one-on-one tutoring in academic and developmental skills.
Through its involvement with Jumpstart and its participation in the “click” competition, Pepperdine has the opportunity to donate books to children in more than 13 low-income preschools surrounding the Malibu area that Jumpstart works with.
“That large of a donation would be very helpful. It would give the kids more to read, as well as give us something to read to them,” freshman and Jumpstart participant Ben Neal said.
Junior Kristie Falbo agrees.
“The kids that Jumpstart works with don’t have any books. If any of us can remember what it was like to have our first books, then you know how much we can help. Hundreds of children can benefit from this,” she said.
10-26-2006