1999

teers make a difference in ecatur

tive--was established durin 1996-97 and matched n-.arl 1,000 college students \'it elementary school studer .s i one-to-one tutoring re i· ior ships during the spring 19S semester. The average reading eve increase of p articipating eh mentary school students d..uirl this semester was 1.69-'llOI than three times the n rm; level of increase. In addition to the M ssi: sippi Reads project, Amer Corps members also idt:ntif local community service ~po tunities for a volunteer ea1 inghouse and p articipat.. i statewide service projec..,:, E> amples of volunteer oppc tun ties and projects include~ ~o;.e Difference Day, Martin ~ thE King, Jr. Day, Boys and ::;ir: Clubs, NetDay 2000, bloo d rives and Alternative Sprin Breaks .

appropriate locations," Gra– ham said. If anyone has a large number of books to donate, volunteers will come to the location and collect the books. For la rge– volume donations, call 635- 2111, ex t. 104, and speak to Sheneka Cleveland or Mar tha Graham. One of the major participat– ing organizations is Campus Link-AmeriCorps. This organi– zation was established in July 1996 in an effort to connect Mis– sissippi's campuses to surround– ing communities and offer a v a– riety of leadership and service experiences to interested col– lege students and local citizens. Teams of AmeriCorps mem– bers are placed on participating campuses where they develop and coordinate community serv– ice projects. The "Mississip pi Reads" program--Campus Link's premiere service initia-

Operating under the assump– n that everyone has the ca– aett} to make a difference in or her community, national 1ake a Difference Day--which Hll be observed this year en Oct 23-w ill offer a multi tude f opportunities for people to t mvolved m worthwhile roJects In Decatur, one of the projects t \\ dl be making a differ– ce 15 a book drive. Volunteers e asking the citizens of Deca– and students at ECCC ther up books of all descrip- ns and place them in boxes at ected drop-off points a 11 r town. The book c ollection project ha\e the cooperation and stance of the town of Deca- All types of books are wei– from atlases to zoology tbooks," said Martha Gra– an AmeriCorps/Vista

volunteer who is helping to co– ordinate the book collection project. "We are placing a spe– cial emphasis rn children's books and, hopefully, chil– dren's videos." The Newton County Elemen– tary School Library and the Decatur Public Library will be the main benefactors, but re– quests from local non-profit or– ganizations will be considered, she said. The book collecting process already has begun, and will nm through Saturday, Oct. 23. "The colle,ction boxes will be placed in sheltered places and then pick~d up by volunteers from ECCC groups who have pledged their time and energy to help. Phi Theta Kappa, the Ecology Club, AmeriCorps vol– unteers and the ECCC Gospel Choir wilJ help to sort th e books and deliver them to th e

.. 0 PEARED IN: ..AKE MESSENGER

CARTHAGINIAN

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