With their “Reading for All” campaign, the future teachers from The Ohio State University at Lima are building literacy in the community before they even have classrooms of their own. With a successful fundraising campaign under their belts, the Education Club students were able to deliver 120 books to the Lima City Schools for distribution.
“Literacy impacts every facet of education and how a student can learn,” said Brianne Ballenger, outgoing president of the Education Club. “Getting books to students from a young age, K-12, is just always important because developing and fostering a love of reading can then positively influence their academic careers for the rest of their lives.”
The club launched a short-term fundraiser at go.osu.edu/readingforall with a modest $1,000 goal that they surpassed and paired it with the annual Scholastic Book Fair on campus spring semester.
The books that the club purchased with their fundraising efforts or that people donated during the book sale have found new temporary homes in the book vending machines found in all the Lima City Schools for distribution when students return to school. The Spartan Ride also distributed the books over the summer along with other resources for the community. The books’ final stop will be in the homes of Lima City Schools’ students.
“We are thrilled about this new partnership with the Ohio State Lima Education Club and all these future teachers. We will be able to put the books both in our book vending machines across the district and in our Spartan Ride, a resource on wheels that we take out into our community,” said Jill Ackerman, Lima City Schools superintendent. “Any time we can get our students excited about reading and get books they choose into their homes, it is a positive for both the school district and our families. We so appreciate the collaborations we have with Ohio State Lima and look forward to many more in the future.”