Hinsdale Central seniors Violet Eck and Alec Trainer have teamed up to coordinate this year's Bernie's Book Bank book drive to collect hundreds of books to distribute to under-resourced children in the Chicago area. (Jim Slonoff photo)
How do you organize a book drive?
Growing up, Violet Eck could often be found ensconced in the pages of a "Fancy Nancy" adventure or a selection from the "I Survived" book series.
"Like 'I Survived the Great Depression.' I loved those, they were my favorites when I was little," Eck said.
Now as a busy Hinsdale Central senior, Eck lamented the challenge of carving out recreational reading time. But knowing how formative stimulating literature was in her childhood, she wants to help provide nascent readers access to books.
She, along with fellow Central senior Alec Trainer, have spearheaded a book drive in partnership with Bernie's Book Bank to collect new or gently used children's books and deliver them to under-served children throughout the Chicagoland. The drive began in mid-October and continues through Jan. 7 (see Page XX for details).
They leveraged social media and posted flyers to spread the word about the drive.
"We've gotten so many, and it's just a good variety," Eck reported. "So many people have books lying around that they don't need."
"I wasn't expecting to get so many. Every day I've seen community members dropping off books. People would bring in boxes of books, and it was just really cool that people were willing to go out of their way and find these books to help some kid that they don't even know get the chance to read and be able to learn that knowledge."
Eck actually observed her older siblings lead Bernie Book Bank drives over the years as part of their National Honor Society service component.
"My older brother Everett started it as an NHS project because he just loved to read," Eck related.
Following in their NHS membership footsteps, she also decided to continue the family philanthropic legacy.
"Each of us has continued to participate in it," she remarked.
Eck said Bernie's Book Bank makes regular donation pick-ups to bring items to Chicago schools for distribution.
"The people who pick the books up are really grateful and amazed that we have so many books," said Eck, who also helped with last year's book drive, which garnered 500 books.
The hope is to exceed that number this year. With a reported two out of three Chicago-area children lacking books, drives like this can combat that deficiency, Eck said. Personally, she tries to make up for lost school year reading time in the summer.
"I'm always reading by the pool. I enjoy fun, exciting books, so I think that is was an important thing for me, especially going to such a good high school and being able to get whatever books I need."
And even with her proficiency on e-devices, Eck said she still prefers curling up with a good old hardcopy edition in her hands.
"I like flipping the pages. I think an actual book is just more satisfying to finish," Eck remarked.
And she likes extending that enjoyment to others.
"I think it's essential to have that basic education (through reading) and be able to step into another world when you're reading a book," she said.
- by Ken Knutson
