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The gift of reading
By SUSAN THURSTON © St. Petersburg Times, published December 15, 2000 TAMPA -- The New Tampa Rotary Club and students from Wharton High School are giving the gift of reading to children at Mort Elementary School this holiday season. Members of Rotary and its high school Interact Club have teamed up to collect 1,000 new and barely used books for every Mort student, pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. Books were to be presented today during the group's Christmas meeting at the school. Rotarians hope the books will help instill a love of reading and give youngsters something educational to do over the long holiday break. School officials say it will benefit children from less fortunate families who may need some extra holiday cheer. "Sometimes they don't have a lot of books in their homes," said Principal Darlene Choe. "This gives them the opportunity to have one of their own." The book giveaway marks the Rotary's second at Mort, she said. The New Tampa club has unofficially adopted the school on Bearss Avenue, offering financial help for things such as uniforms and school supplies. "The Rotary has been especially good to us," said Choe, a club member. "When they see a need, they try to meet it." The Rotary's Interact Club at Wharton joined the project this year. The club is one of more than 6,650 worldwide dedicated to fostering leadership and peace among young people everywhere. "It's just a nice thing to do," said Taylor Hoeffner, president of the 50-student Interact Club. "Some of these kids go to school without shoes . . . jackets. It broke my heart." Wharton students collected about 300 books for their younger counterparts at Mort. Most were books from their childhood that had been sitting on their shelves at home unread. Any extras will go to the school's library. "Books are so important, especially at the elementary school age," said 18-year-old Taylor, a senior who's read just about every Nancy Drew mystery. "Reading is everything." Ronald Hurst, chairman of the Rotary's Interact committee, said Wharton's involvement has bolstered the book drive and strengthened ties between the schools. In January, some of the Interact students will start tutoring Mort students in reading. "There's a lot of enthusiasm. It's impressive," he said. "They are all volunteering to do things." Reaching out to the children shows young people the community cares about them, Rotary members said. It also makes everyone feel good, said Rotarian Jerry Bever, who led the book drive. "Any time you can do a hands-on service project with little kids it just warms everyone hearts, especially at Christmas time," he said. -- Susan Thurston can be reached at (813) 226-3463 or thurston@sptimes.com.
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