THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 16, 1994 TAG: 9412140155
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
Christmas came early for the young patients at the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters. They received the gift of reading, but not from Santa Claus.
This time it was the collective action of the Chesapeake Reading Council, led by president Susan Serra, reading resource teacher at Sparrow Road Intermediate School.
The group, in honor of Children's Reading Month, spent most of November collecting books to be donated to the Norfolk-based children's hospital.
After galvanizing the efforts of the council's membership, Serra said book-donation fever spread well beyond the Reading Council's 600 members, enabling them to collect more than 1,500 books to be used by the hospital's young patients.
The books were officially donated during a brief ceremony last Thursday afternoon at the hospital.
Serra said the Chesapeake Reading Council, an affiliate of the International Reading Association, has been in existence for over 25 years. It is made up of teachers, guidance counselors, school faculty, student teachers studying at Old Dominion University and Norfolk State University, Chesapeake School Board members and school administrators.
Along with community help projects, the Reading Council also holds reading workshops for teachers, an annual literacy dinner to honor a person or group for significant literary contributions to a school or the community and organizes an annual Young Author's campaign to encourage school children to write.
When it comes to special projects, the governing International Reading Association provides guidelines usually followed by all participating local reading councils.
``It suggested we do some kind of community project, either by donating money or donating books,'' Serra explained. ``After our September book exhibitors' fair, the members decided to donate books.''
Most of the donated books were new, Serra said. Only a few ``gently used'' books were donated.
``Each person was able to spend exactly what they were able to spend,'' she said. ``But they spent a fortune on books; people spent tons of money. Some bought very expensive book sets and hardbacks.''
But the level of donations wasn't the only impressive thing about this effort.
``Soon the project became overwhelming,'' Serra said. ``Bulletins for the book drive were sent to all 46 Chesapeake public schools. The information was passed on to everybody at the schools, and soon we had PTA members, students and parents joining the effort. All of the books were temporarily stored in my garage, and I had no garage space for weeks. Everyone, reading council members and non-members who helped, thought this was such a wonderful project.''
Those on the receiving end of the project thought it was pretty good, too.
``I can't tell you how much we appreciate this gift,'' said Lisa Griffin, director of the CHKD's Child Life Department. ``The books are all wonderful. We never anticipated such quality. There's many Newbery and Caldecott award-winning books in here, and we received books appropriate for each age.''
The hospital's Child Life Department employs professionals who address the social, emotional and developmental issues of children while they are patients at the hospital.
Griffin said her department includes certified child-care specialists who are trained to meet the emotional needs of children to help them adjust to their particular illness or injury and to their hospitalization.
They work with the children in special play-therapy rooms. The donated books will be housed in these special rooms, divided into three age categories: infant/toddler, children and adolescent.
Griffin said the books will be used:
By children who read in bed.
At story times, when the young patients are out of their beds and in one of the therapy playrooms.
By parents who read to their bed-ridden children.
``This is a well-intentioned donation to provide something worthwhile to our children, and not just someone trying to get rid of a bunch of used books,'' Griffin added.
``We felt so many Chesapeake children use so many of the hospital's services that it was worthwhile to make the book donation,'' Serra said. ``Chesapeake children and children from all the other Hampton Roads cities would all benefit from the books. We thought it was a good way to celebrate Children's Reading Month and a nice Christmas present for the Children's Hospital.'' MEMO: For more information on the Chesapeake Reading Council, contact the
reading resource teacher at your local public school or contact Susan
Serra at Sparrow Road Intermediate School, 494-7605.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by KEVIN ELLIOTT
Susan Serra reads a donated book to Joseph Buterbaugh at The
Children's Hospital.
by CNB