SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE
Saint Mary’s has partnered with Think Kindness to develop a month-long challenge to collect 10,000 books that will directly benefit students at one local elementary school. During the month of March, Saint Mary’s will collect new or gently used books for K-6 students to support Echo Loder Elementary School’s Just One campaign. All donations will be collected at Seraphine’s Café, on the first floor of Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center.
“Our local school children deserve the best education, and we are glad to be part of an initiative that will improve reading skills and foster long-term success,” said Gary Aldax, Saint Mary’s director of community benefit. “We are dedicated to being strong community partners and know how important it is to help improve education for our students.”
The Just One campaign, a program run exclusively at Echo Loder Elementary School, was designed to help build the home libraries of students and to encourage them to read for at least 10 minutes each evening with a parent or family member. Founded by school librarian Theresa Shirley, the program provides students with 25 books for their home library and aims to expand their collections each year by hosting various book drives. Additionally, at the end of each trimester, the most dedicated readers will be recognized at a school assembly.
The Saint Mary’s book drive will run through Saturday, March 31, and all new or gently used books can be delivered to Seraphine’s Café on the Saint Mary’s campus at 235 W. Sixth Street in Reno. For more information about the book drive, call Josh Charlebois, communications manager, at 770-6114.
To learn more about Saint Mary’s, visit www.saintmarysreno.org.
