Lynn schools and teachers give away 43,000 books

LYNN – There was music, face-painting, a celebrity dog and a celebrity elf at the Lynn Vocational Technical Institute cafeteria Saturday. But the thousands of children and adults were primarily there for something else: 43,000 free books, courtesy of Lynn educators.”We all recognize the importance of books and literacy and certainly there’s a need in Lynn to bolster the school libraries and to bolster the home libraries of kids, so it was a win-win,” Lynn Teachers Union President Brant Duncan said Sunday.The book distribution event culminated several months of planning by the Lynn Teachers Union, Lynn Public Schools, the City of Lynn, the nonprofit organization First Book and several nonprofit organizations in the city that work with children.First Book connects book publishers and community organizations to provide children in need with new books. The organization also partners with the American Federation of Teachers, of which the Lynn Teachers Union is a member. Duncan said the local union decided to try a “truck challenge,” whereby they would find 2,000 people who work with low-income children and register them with First Book. In return, the organization would send a truck full of new books to be distributed to the community.Duncan said the union members registered people in the school department and at local nonprofits who work with children in after-school or extracurricular activities. These organizations included the Boys and Girls Club, Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development, local parent-teacher organizations, and Greater Lynn Senior Services, Duncan said.The 18-wheeler truck arrived last week, and the sorting began Friday – roughly a 12-hour effort with 100 volunteers including teachers, students from various Lynn schools, parents, and nonprofit representatives, Duncan said.Saturday morning, the doors opened for the distribution. Each public school student was given an invitation for five free books, while educators with Lynn Public Schools and Gregg House after-school program could choose 50 free books. The books ranged from picture books and bedtime stories to chapter books for ages pre-kindergarten to high school.Meanwhile, Clifford the Big Red Dog and Santa Claus made special guest appearances, kids could get their face painted, and holiday tunes were in the air.”From a volunteer standpoint, it was really community driven in terms of everyone helping out,” Duncan said.He said organizers counted about 1,000 adults who attended, and he would estimate 2,500 children came to pick up books.”It was so fun to see kids picking up books, and some of the teachers were lucky enough to get full book sets that they can use in the classroom,” Lynn Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Catherine C. Latham said. “It was amazing – 43,000, that’s a lot of books ? I couldn’t believe it.”Duncan said the district still had to register a few more partners to reach the 2,000-person obligation, but predicted it could be done.He said he did not know if the union would do another truck drive immediately, but was committed to continuing to provide books for the community.”It really exceeded our expectations in terms of the kids that were there,” Duncan said. Then he recalled his favorite part of the event. “Just the expressions on the kids faces when they walked in and they saw thousands and thousands of books.”If you work or volunteer with an organization serving low-income children and would like to inquire about registering with First Book, please visit firstbook.org/aft.