Arcadia High School Students Promoting Literacy Club Hosts Book Drive

A bookshelf filled with books much like the multitude of books collected from Student Promoting Literacy club’s book drive. – Courtesy photo

All throughout Arcadia High School (AHS), students are immersed in a variety of opportunities for community service. One event that was especially unique was AHS’s Students Promoting Literacy club’s book drive, held from Dec. 3 to Dec. 7. Led by officer team members President Natalie Samadi, Vice President Rachel Lee, Secretary Kenna Gao, Treasurer Matthew Lu, Historian Christie Wang, and Interclub Council Representative Ethan Nguyen, Students Promoting Literacy is a club that focuses on English literacy for Arcadia students and the surrounding community.

In accordance with their mission and in honor of the giving holiday spirit, Students Promoting Literacy held a book drive in early December to expand club outreach and to help the community. The officer team chose to do a book drive in particular because they “wanted to ensure that everyone, including those who are less fortunate, have the opportunity to have equal learning opportunities,” Lee mentioned. Furthermore, reading books not only inspires readers but also encourages and builds a strong foundation for literacy.

The organization that Students Promoting Literacy chose for its book drive was The Women’s Room at Friends In Deed. This local Pasadena organization provides services for women who are at risk of homelessness or are homeless. Because The Women’s Room’s mission is in compliance with that of Students Promoting Literacy, Samadi said they selected the program as it “is an impactful program that not only provides basic necessities for those in need but also hosts activities such as weekly writing classes for its women.”

Through the book drive, Students Promoting Literacy hoped to make a positive change on the Arcadia High School campus and throughout the San Gabriel Valley communities. According to Gao, their initial goals for the book drive were “to not only spread literacy around our school but also to allow others that are less fortunate to have the same amount of opportunities to gain knowledge.”

Students Promoting Literacy sought to target those who would benefit from the power of books and wanted to donate to charitable organizations such as The Women’s Room. As the book drive approached the holiday season, Lu also “wished to bring out a more generous and philanthropic spirit from the students around campus.

With all of the books collected through the book drive, Lu contended that those who receive the books from the donations will be able to enjoy and read these books for enjoyment and self-improvement. He hopes that “people remember just how much of an impact they can make with so little of an effort. Just dropping an unwanted book into a donation box helps to make a big difference to those who don’t have the same luxuries we do.”

In the future, Students Promoting Literacy plans to continue its annual tradition of a book drive to “continue impacting others within our community and beyond,” Samadi remarked. The book drive’s success this year and continued success is no doubt due to the outstanding support from the officer team, club members, AHS, and the community.

To donate to Friends In Deed, visit this website.