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Barnes & Noble Book Drive Nets Over 3,000 Books for RCPS Libraries

March 13 was a teacher work day for RCPS this year and the elementary librarians had a big job to do ... looking through over 3,000 books and selecting ones for their school libraries. All these books were made available at no cost through the efforts of the Rockingham Educational Foundation, Inc.

The librarians were invited by REFI to come to the teacher supply depot that day and make selections of books for use in their libraries. Each of the 15 elementary libraries, including River Bend Elementary, now have 180 new books for their students to read.

REFI held a book fair with Barnes and Noble in the November and REFI was selected as the beneficiary of the Barnes & Noble annual holiday book drive. "In January, we picked up 3,077 books in some 37 boxes from Barnes and Noble from the drive", said Janet Wendelken, executive director of REFI. "We organized the books and worked with the librarians to set up a date for the book selection." The librarians for all of the elementary schools came to the depot and looked through hundreds of books to make their selections.

Thanks to the librarians, Fred Babbitt, Dick Harper, depot coordinator, and Donna Miller of the REFI office for their help in making this event happen. Thanks goes to Barnes and Noble for their generosity.

REFI will be holding a Turn Off Week celebration on Saturday, April 18, at Barnes and Noble. "This will kick off the week of April 19 - 25, when we ask everyone to consider turning off electronic items and do more reading and face-to-face communication with the people around us," said Wendelken. "We will also be offering information about the summer reading program for students at this event."

REFI and Barnes and Noble will again team up for the REFI Book Fair on Nov. 6, and 7, 2009 and the annual Holiday book drive in November and December.

"This activity for our schools comes through the Early Literacy and Learning Support program," said Wendelken. " Support for literacy and learning is a high priority for REFI. We are pleased to be able to give over 3,000 books, valued at $15,000 to our libraries."

For more information on REFI's programs or to become a financial supporter, contact Janet Wendelken at REFI at 564-3218.

Submitted by Janet Wendelken
Director of Instructional Programs, RCPS
Executive Director, Rockingham Educational Foundation, Inc.