Club donates books to schools
Soroptimist book donations encourage kids ‘to dream big, to have goals’
In honor of Women’s History Month, members of Soroptimist International of Eureka have donated books by or about contemporary women making history in careers of science, politics, advocacy, sports, aviation, research and development to several local schools.
“March 8th is International Women’s Day and the month of March is celebrated as Women’s History Month, which commemorates the history of women’s impact in the world and to raise awareness of issues women and girls are facing worldwide. International Women’s Day was established to commemorate the movement for women’s rights,” said Mandy Marquez, coordinator of this year’s book drive, in an email interview with the Times-Standard.
“Soroptimist International,” she said, “is a worldwide organization whose mission is to improve the lives of women and girls through service. This year, we chose to celebrate National Women’s Month locally by selecting middle schools to donate new, preselected books that showcase women in the fields of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) and athletics.”
Each year, Soroptimist International of Eureka makes book donations to local elementary, middle or high schools during Women’s History Month.
“This project aligns with our mission of promoting literacy and encouraging children, especially girls, to dream big, to have goals, and if others can do it, they can to,” Marquez said.
Book themes vary year to year. One year, the donated books featured athletes and Olympians, and another year, notable women of the past, including Harriet Tubman, Abigail Adams, Anne Frank, Pocahontas and others.
“One year,” Marquez said, “we donated books about contemporary women making history: ‘I Am Malala,’ ‘My Beloved World” by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, “Soul Surfer” by Bethany Hamilton, “A Champion On And Off the Court” about Serena Williams, “I Got This” by Laurie Hernandez and more.
This year, local middle schools are splitting the 47 donated books. Recipients include Alder Grove, South Bay, Winship Middle, Zane Middle and Freshwater schools. Some of the titles being donated are “Marie Curie for Kids,” “The Elephant Scientist,” “Living History-Hillary Rodham Clinton,” “Code Girls,” “Temple Grandin,” “Reaching for the Moon,” “The Girl Who Drew Butterflies,” “Women of Steal and Stone,” “Bold Women in Medicine,” “Hidden Figures” and “Girl Activist.”
“The topics typically focus on women in leadership or overcoming obstacles and support our overarching theme of empowerment for women and girls,” Marquez said. “There are many social and economic injustices women and girls have faced for decades and many of these books provide a dialog for the history and the path in which we continue to fight for well into the future. Some are simply successes facing adversity, and overall, our hope is the young girls who will read them find them inspiring.”
Soroptimist International of Eureka worked with Booklegger in Eureka to select and order the books for this year’s project. The Old Town bookstore also donated some books to the project.
“We usually select a specific industry or theme and they put together an incredible lineup of books to distribute,” Marquez said.
“They suggest titles, find the best deal on the books and even donate some. They also help choose books appropriate to the age level we are targeting,” Marquez noted. “They typically provide our club a generous discount for the purchase of the books, including donating a few books to the cause. And we pick them to further support our women helping women goals by supporting their local small women-owned business.”
Jen McFadden, owner of Booklegger, says it was a “total pleasure to be involved.”
McFadden said, “Since connecting kids with books is one of the best parts of our job this project was a good fit for us. Nancy Short, my long-time business partner who recently retired, spent quite a bit of time researching books on inspiring women and girls in various fields, making sure to include quite a few that focused on women in the sciences, since the Soroptmists had indicated that was an area they wanted to highlight. It’s a feelgood endeavor all the way around for them to invest not only in the books for young local readers, but to support a woman-owned business by ordering the books through our store. Making books that are inspiring and empowering to girls widely available is such a worthy goal, and we appreciate the Soroptimists for working to do just that.”