Tennessee High School Senior Donates 700 Books To Elementary School
"Even if they don't remember me in ten years, I know I've helped them."
A high school student in Tennessee said the “literacy issue” in her state is what compelled her to donate 700 books to her community’s elementary school.
Hannah Crawley, a senior at Jefferson County High School, was tasked with identifying and researching a need in her community to craft a master plan for her service learning class project.
“I knew I wanted to do something based upon literacy because it seemed like such an issue in Tennessee,” Crawley told Southern Living.
Only 36.4 percent of Tennessee students are reading at the proficient level, according to Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program scores.
Crawley noticed students in the kindergarten class where she volunteers seem to be more interested in technology than books.
“I grew up reading books,” she said, “But I could tell that kids now just don’t [read] it as much.”
Crawley’s idea was to collect and give away 568 books - one to each student at Dandridge Elementary School.
She made flyers and reached out to community organizations asking for donations and she even got her idea written up in the local newspaper. She quickly surpassed her goal - collecting more than 700 books.
“It was a project that anyone could help with,” Crawley said.
When it came time to give out the books - Crawley hand delivered them to each classroom along with a message.
“I’m giving you a gift because reading is a gift.”
Taking five minutes to go to each classroom to hand out the books was important to her, she said, because she could see the excitement on the kids’ faces.
Crawley, who plans to attend Sewanee University in the fall, said completing her service project and serving in the kindergarten class has made her consider a future in children’s advocacy.
But regardless of what career she ends up pursuing, she feels fortunate to be playing a special part in the students’ lives.
“When you're with kindergartners, you're really shaping some of their first memories,” she said, “even if they don't remember me in ten years, I've helped them.”
“They brighten my day every day and I know that I get to help brighten their day a little bit too.”
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