OWEN O’ROURKE / ITEM PHOTO
Saugus children’s librarian Martha Morgan carries some of the 500 books that were donated to the town’s schools from Reading Is Fundamental and Macy’s.
By BRIDGET TURCOTTE
SAUGUS — Thanks to the Saugus Library, students at the town’s elementary schools will Be Book Smart.
The library distributed 500 books to Saugus elementary schools following a donation from the Be Book Smart campaign by Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) and Macy’s.
“We are so fortunate to have such a generous community that 500 new books will be read and enjoyed by Saugus children,” said Children’s Librarian Martha Morgan. “Thanks, too, to the Macy’s employees who put their hearts and souls into this campaign.”
During the campaign, which was held in Macy’s stores across the country, customers were encouraged to give $3 to help provide books to children in their local communities. When customers made a donation, they received $10 off in-store purchases of $30 or more and either 15 or 20 percent off storewide. Macy’s gave 100 percent of the donations to RIF.
“A true grassroots initiative, Macy’s Be Book Smart is a fun and rewarding campaign that brings associates and customers together in a common cause to bring books to the children who need them most,” said Martine Reardon, chief marketing officer for Macy’s.
“Together we can make a real difference in our communities,” Reardon said. “We are proud to support RIF’s work to inspire children with the joy of reading all year long, especially during the summer months.”
Morgan said she heard about the Be Book Smart campaign through an email from RIF, which explained that the nonprofit literacy organization was looking for beneficiaries of the program. Morgan followed up with a local store.
“I reached out to Macy’s,” she said. “I said we would be happy to be recipients.”
“I did not expect (that they would donate as many as 500 books,” she said. “There were so many choices, I ordered five of each book (that she chose).”
A representative from each of the public elementary schools visited the library to collect and take books back to their school to be handed out to students.
In addition to the 500 books, a box filled with about 30 hardcover multicultural books was also donated by RIF, Morgan said.
One teacher grabbed a few books written in both Spanish and English for a student who recently moved to the United States and will be learning English, she said.
“The books were all on target for what is popular and interesting at their grade levels,” said Waybright School Reading Teacher Joanne Leach. “There was a fabulous assortment of genres, from fiction, nonfiction and poetry.
“Many books were hard covered and had beautiful illustrations and language in them,” she said. “Those books are certainly meant to be read aloud by a parent at home.”
“These kids will be thrilled to have a book of their own to take home,” said Leach. “Children love to have books that are just theirs and there are children in our community who do not really have books of their very own.”
Veterans Memorial Elementary School received 200 of the books because of the number of students who attend the school and the other three each received 100 books, Morgan said.
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected].
