Base donated books to Boys and Girls Club
By Matt Shaw
Published in News on March 4, 2004 1:59 PM
MOUNT OLIVE -- Children looked excitedly through boxes that had just arrived Tuesday at the Mount Olive Boys and Girls Club.
"Ooh, 'Goosebumps'!"
"I like chapter books."
"There's plenty in there," an airman answered.
"Harry Potter!"
Staff Sgt. Jody C. Velez joked, "Oh, how did that get in there? I meant to keep that."
Five airmen from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base decided to collect books as a spin-off project for "Wayne County Reads," the countywide reading project. Over a two-week period, they asked members of their squadron to donate both new and used children's books.
The group gathered six boxes of books, including some copies of "To Kill A Mockingbird," and delivered them Tuesday, which was "Read Across America Day."
Center Director Cynthia Jones was grateful for the Air Force personnel's generosity, she said. The club typically serves 40 to 50 school-age children and teen-agers a day and needs books for its after-school and tutorial programs.
The club will be moving into a new building this summer, where it will have one room set aside as a library. These books will help with that, she added.
Anyone who would like to donate books to the club may call 658-9836.