Help if You Can – “Unfortunately, budget issues beyond the control of the campus have resulted in library funding being cut by 70% for this school year.”

“Dear PoPville,

Hi, I’m Jennie. I’m the school librarian at Chavez Prep Middle School, which is located at Kenyon and Sherman in Columbia Heights. We serve over 300 students in sixth through ninth grade. The kids at my school are awesome. I know most educators probably say that about their students, but these are seriously the coolest kids I’ve ever worked with. They are funny, creative, smart, and resilient in the face of adversity.

Our students are voracious readers! The library at Prep is quite small – about the size of a classroom – but our annual book circulation tops that of schools with more than triple our student enrollment. The kids love reading and I love helping them find books they’ll enjoy. I think many of us probably had a moment as children when we just “clicked” with a particular book (it was Nancy Drew for me!). That moment is often the start of a lifelong passion for books and reading. I LOVE it when I connect kids with books that “click” with them – it’s seriously the coolest thing to have a kid check out a book, read it in one day, and come back the next frantically searching for the sequel.

Unfortunately, budget issues beyond the control of the campus have resulted in library funding being cut by 70% for this school year. I can’t buy the books my students want to read. I’ve been paying for highly requested titles out of my own pocket, but the need for books is greater than what I can afford as an individual. That’s why I’ve created a GoFundMe Campaign to buy books for the Prep library. Donors have the option to sponsor a particular book (I’ll add a bookplate with your name on the inside cover) and will receive a thank-you note and a one-of-a-kind bookmark created by the students in my Coloring Club.

It’s the holidays, and I know money is tight for everyone, but small donations can make a huge difference. If you check out Chavez Prep’s Amazon Wish List, you’ll see that many of the books are less than $5.00. Every cent that is donated will go directly towards purchasing books. I believe in stretching the book budget as far as possible, so I never pay for expensive conveniences like pre-cataloging and library binding. I’ll perform the cataloging work myself and cover every book cover in packing tape to increase durability. Your contribution will put books directly into the hands of my students.

Check out our GoFundMe Campaign for more information and please consider sharing on Facebook or Twitter. I’m determined that my kids will have always have access to awesome, high-quality books, so please let me know If you have any ideas or suggestions for future fundraisers.

Thanks for reading! You can reach me at [email protected] if you have any questions or comments.

Sincerely,

Jennie”