Coming Together to Heal: Books, Authors, and Readers
My students need to experience the wonderful characters created by Rita Williams-Garcia and Jewell Parker Rhodes. That is ten copies each of Sugar, Ninth Ward, One Crazy Summer and Bottle Cap Boys Dancing on Royal Street. Both authors will be visiting our school in October!
FULLY FUNDED! Mr. Veazey's classroom raised $501
This project is fully funded
My Students
The kids that come into my library are survivors. My students are PreK to Grade 5 and mostly come from low-income areas, but their hunger for knowledge is real.
The Louisiana Flood of 2016 may have washed away their belongings, but it has not diminished their spirits.
These kids are true learners, and they deserve every opportunity to achieve greatness.
Good hearts, capable minds, eyes open wide - my students have all of these. All they need is a chance to put them to use.
My Project
My students need to experience the wonderful characters created by Rita Williams-Garcia and Jewell Parker Rhodes. That is ten copies each of Sugar, Ninth Ward, One Crazy Summer and Bottle Cap Boys Dancing on Royal Street. Both authors will be visiting our school in October! We're back! After the Louisiana Flood of 2016, I returned to my school library to check it out after being under water. The books were gone. I would have no chance to save titles on higher shelves such as my signed edition of Dear Hank Williams from when Kimberly Willis Holt visited my school, or a brand new copy of Counting Thyme that I bought for the library after tearing through it on the beach this past summer, or all of the graphic novels I’d spent the last year collecting because my students couldn’t get enough of El Deafo, The Dumbest Idea Ever!, Roller Girl, and Sunny Side Up. I don’t want to talk about the ones that I haven’t even gotten to read yet like The Seventh Wish or Jack & Louisa: Act 2.
I tried to tell myself that they were “only books,” but anyone who has ever loved a book knows that there is no such thing as “only books.” Why am I reminiscing about every wonderful book that comes to mind?
The answer is simple. I need help.
Our school is relocating. We’ve been ushered over to a building that was built in 1937. That means my new school is the same age as "And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street." It also means that, in my first year as a librarian, I have a library without any books.
Access to books is the key to educational success. Our library doesn’t have books. Our classrooms don’t have books. Many of the homes of our students don’t have books. Like the tears that rolled down our faces both in silent and violent measures, books became a part of the flood before being swept away as we looked toward rebuilding and recovery.
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. Veazey and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
