With the magic of a book drive, you can offer an escape from a hospital bed for a sick child.
The UNC Libraries Pediatric Oncology Book Drive — which runs from Nov. 14 to Dec. 8 — will accept donations that will later be delivered by the Book Fairy to children at UNC Hospitals.
The Book Fairy was started by Kathy Humphries who lost her son, Karl, to a brain tumor in 2007. Humphries started the organization because of her son’s love of reading.
“While he was in the hospital, books were a great comfort to him. She was inspired by that to bring books into the hospital for other children,” said UNC librarian Katelyn Ander, who helped coordinate the event last year and this year.
The book drive will end on Dec. 8 with the 19th annual Winter Stories Program at 5 p.m.
The program will include telling of winter fables from different parts of the world as well as sing-a-longs and seasonal refreshments.
This is the third year of the book drive and coordinators said they hope they will receive just as many donations as they have in previous years.
“My hope is that it is on par with the past year when we had about 2,000 books donated,” said Ander. “This year we have had more interest in participation from outside groups like Durham Academy.”
This year, the drive is hoping for a variety of books, especially those geared toward younger children and books in languages that are commonly spoken in North Carolina such as Spanish, Ander said.
“The Book Fairy told us they are looking for board books for really young children. They are also especially looking for books featuring multicultural families,” said Steven Brooks, co-chairman of the University Library Diversity Committee which helped coordinate the book drive.
“This is a great way for the libraries to support another group on campus and children reading,” Ander said. “We are able to provide reading as an escape to children when they maybe suffering.”
Bull’s Head Bookstore is also helping with the program by offering a 25 percent discount to anyone who mentions “The Book Fairy” when purchasing a book for the drive.
“People took advantage of the deal last year and I know they will this year too,” said Stacie Smith, manager of the Bull’s Head Bookstore.
- Davis Library lobby
- Undergraduate Library lobby
- Wilson Library lobby
- Health Sciences Library
- Law Library
- School of Information and Library Science, Manning Hall lobby
- School of Education, Peabody Hall, Student Affairs Office lobby, 1st floor
- School of Social Work, Tate-Turner-Kuralt Building lobby
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