Coweta County parents, elementary

school students, teachers and citizens donated over 5,000 easy-reader

children's books as part of National Make a Difference Day, organized

Community Schools Director

Alan Wood gathered several students and community groups together to celebrate

the donations, amidst stacks and boxes of Dr. Seuss, Clifford the Big

Red Dog and other children's volumes. The books will go to a variety of

uses - including donations to family groups and use by community literacy

programs to help teach Hispanic children English - and the successful

book drive will become an annual event, said Wood.

"We have had just a tremendous

response, thanks to leadership from our school principals and the generosity

of parents," said Wood. Parents with children in elementary school

were being asked to donate one good condition, easy-reader children's

book to their child's school through October 29 as a part of the drive.

Willis Road Elementary School

led county elementary schools in donations, with 2,450 books collected.

Students from Willis Road, Arnco-Sargent - where JUDY Davis' 4th grade

class collected 184 books - White Oak, Northside and Western joined Wood

at his CEC offices. Students from the Performance Learning Center (PLC)

also joined the gathering, since sorting and cataloguing the books is

a part of several PLC students' community service project.

Anne Josey, Executive Director

of CLICK (Certified Literate is Coweta's Key), met with Wood as part of

the festivities. CLICK is among several local organizations working to

teach Hispanic students and their parents English, and will receive several

of the books as they are translated by school system Spanish class students.

Wood said the books will be

used for a variety of other purposes as well, including donations to Angel's

House children's shelter, the establishment of a community book pantry,

and direct donations to students and families.

"This has turned out to

be a wonderful event, and it has energized students and parents to get

involved and make a difference," said Wood. "And it fills so

many needs, so we will keep this as an ongoing effort and will hold a

similar drive for each Make A Difference day."

Cutline: Over 5,000 children's

books were collected for National Make a Difference Day through Coweta

County elementary schools. Students and teachers from several schools

gathered at Alan Wood's offices at the Central Educational Center to celebrate

the successful collection. Among them were, back row left to right, Willis

Road Principal Charles Smith, Northside Principal Tom McCormack, Western

principal Mike Cutchen, Arnco-Sargent AP Deborah Palmer, White Oak AP

Janet Wunner, and Performance Learning Center students Melissa Mahaffey

and Shanna Stanley, of East Coweta High School.