On November 19th, seven Nerinx Hall students delivered more than six large boxes of books to Cornerstone Center for Early Learning. Ms. Jami Melton, the Coordinator of Special Programs at Cornerstone, watched in surprise as a small mountain of children’s books formed in her office.

Cornerstone is a childhood center in South St. Louis City that enrolls children from 6 weeks to 6 years old. The organization provides quality, affordable head start child care to families. One of the primary focuses of Cornerstone is to promote early childhood literacy. Literacy is one of the most pivotal tools for developing children, and it can help prepare students for the transition to kindergarten. Without practice of oral and written articulation, students often fall behind their peers in school. Cornerstone makes sure that its students enter kindergarten ready and excited to learn.

The idea for the book drive stemmed from a social activism component of Women and Gender Studies class. The idea was to take what we had learned and apply it to our world. Because equal education was a central topic in the class, a book drive seemed like the perfect opportunity to promote this idea. By donating books, we were hoping to provide tools for childhood language development.

Ms. Melton commented that people donated many series of books in pristine condition to the book drive. Because the Christmas season is approaching, Cornerstone provides families with donations that could be used as Christmas presents. Ms. Melton noted that these series would make great gifts for young readers. In addition, she said that during the winter months, Cornerstone’s teachers take time to teach the children about different religious and cultural holidays. Several of the donated books touched on Hanukkah and Christmas traditions, and she was happy that these could be implemented in their studies.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the book drive. The donation was a huge success!