By Amanda Moses
Every year, Spring Creek Towers (SCT) commemorates International Literacy Day with an annual book giveaway in front of 1390 Pennsylvania Avenue.
On September 12th, volunteers from the Brooklyn Reading Council along with Friends National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa-Theta, and Popular Literacy Club piled hundreds of books across numerous folding tables like a reading buffet for all ages.
In the early morning hours, groggy-eyed children became wide-eyed and excited while walking to school when they spotted the book giveaway. Some parents repeated in shoch, “These are free?”
Sandra Bonaventure was walking with her eight-year-old daughter to school when she was surprised to see a free book giveaway. Bonaventure is a staunch supporter of reading and has a particular nostalgia for the fresh scent of a new book.
“I’m a really big believer in reading and I love the smell of books, the fresh pages or even the old pages. I grew up on reading books almost every week. I read a book every week in book club, and I really want to get [my daughter] some reading books,” Bonaventure said, adding that she reads to her daughter every night.
Throughout the day from 8am to 5pm, Yvette Grant, a former schoolteacher and coordinator of the book giveaway, happily advised families, adults, and seniors on the plethora of books available according to reading level and genre.
“International Literacy Day, which is basically a way to eradicate illiteracy. It’s also to empower people to be very active citizens and make informed decisions. But it’s also for the love of books. Loving to read, loving to learn, and loving to participate in decisions that are important in our lives,” Grant said.
In an effort to continue their work promoting reading and to coincide with this year’s theme is ‘Promoting literacy for a world in transition: Building the foundation for sustainable and peaceful societies,” Grant and the participating organizations collected over 2,000 books to distribute to the Spring Creek Towers community.
International Literacy Day was created in 1966 as an annual celebration to remind the world of the importance of reading and how it effects a person’s quality of life. United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reports that despite the progress made toward creating a more literate and sustainable society, there are still over 763 million youth and adults who lack basic literacy skills.
In addition, to the book giveaway, members of The Opportunity Hub Team (including Teen Central’s staff) offered a helping hand distributing books and information about their numerous education programs for youth, adults, and seniors.
Photos by Amanda Moses
