IN THE NEWS

Boys & Girls Club kids get new books

By LAURA COLLINS | Tuesday May 08 2007, 6:38am

Some Boys and Girls Club members were able to pick out two books each from Waldenbooks Monday night with the help of a $3,000 grant.

The club applied for the grant from First Book BGSU Firelands to encourage reading at a young age.

"We've had several opportunities to pass out books, but we wanted the kids to pick out their own books and have an input on what they read," said Gil Vaughn, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club.

First Book is a non-profit organization aimed at giving children from low-income families the opportunity to own books.

 

Register photo/ABIGAIL BOBROW Cheyenne Flournoy, 7, shows a Disney book to Marcus Harris, co-chair of First Books at BGSU Firelands at Walden Books at the Sandusky Mall. First Books sponsored the outing which enabled each child in the Boys and Girls Club in Sandusky to buy two books.

Each student gets personalized stickers to put inside their books. The books can be taken home and do not have to remain at the club.

"It's important to get books of their own into the hands of these youth," said Marcus Harris, First Book co-chair.

The children perused the rows for more than an hour looking for the perfect books.

Jalynn Edmon, 8, said she reads a lot from home and likes to relate books to movies. She said she likes to pick books that look fun to read and aren't too long.

"It's just like a movie inside, but it's really a book you're just reading," Jalynn said.

Jacoreon Gibson, 6, picked a couple of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle books because he recognized the characters.

"It's fun because I like to read," he said. "But I get mixed up with some words sometimes."

Remaining members of the Boys and Girls Club will get their chance to pick out books later in the week.