Illinois Second Graders and Their Families Donate to Botswana Book Project in Honor of Teachers

In celebration of the holidays last December, the second graders of Room 2B and their families at Baker Demonstration School in Illinois gave the gift of books to children in Botswana in honor of their teachers. The group collected and donated over $300 to the Botswana Book Project, which was was founded by Pam Shelton, a retired librarian from  Vermont who traveled to Botswana in 1997 and was inspired by the "book famine" she saw both in schools there and across the region in general.

The group is also working with Pam Shelton to get connected with an area school so the students of 2B can write to some of the kids in Botswana and become connected in an additional way. Plus, the class is talking about having a bake sale later in the winter to raise funds to send some additional supplies to a classroom there.

In a letter to their children's teachers, the 2B parents wrote:

"The families of 2B wanted to find a thoughtful way at this holiday time to express our appreciation for the work that you do with our children, teaching them not only the basics but also helping in preparing them to be creative, well-rounded, thoughtful contributors to the world at large. There is no greater gift that our children can receive, and we are profoundly appreciative of your efforts to this end. Your passions for both reading and teaching from a multicultural and social justice perspective inspired us to contribute to a Books For Africa program. As a group, we have collected and will be donating over $300 to the Botswana Book Project in your honor as well as in honor of the associate and specials teachers who work with our children."