Posted By: Damara Lauren Catlett, Northern Mid-Atlantic Regional Director
Written By: Raquella Wilson

When this initiative was presented at the international convention our officers were so excited about the prospect of helping to provide an education to those who might otherwise go without, we signed up immediately after the closing of the presenting seminar.  As we were approaching the end of the semester and felt this was an excellent opportunity to acquire books, we decided to begin our efforts immediately. Before we even received the collection boxes from Better World Books, we had begun to collect cases of books.  Instructors and administration were overwhelmingly supportive of our efforts and made substantial contributions.  The students chose to donate their used books rather than receive monetary reimbursement for them.  What better way to help someone than to provide them with educational tools so that they can empower themselves?

The money raised from the Books for Africa drive was used to purchase a tree for our tree planting event.  Officers and members of Phi Theta Kappa chose to coordinate with the child development center on our campus to use the tree planting event as a tool to educate the young students, who attend the center, on the importance of “Keeping America Beautiful”.  The children were excited to be participants in physically planting the tree and were eager learners when it came to educating them on liter prevention. 

We are currently working on ideas for our most recent check. However, I am sure it will be used to benefit others.