Hillsborough Township was approached over the summer by members of the Hillsborough Education Foundation (HEF) to assist with a book drive. The goal was to collect new and gently used books that could be repurposed into classroom libraries.
Over the course of a few days, the side multipurpose room became a dropoff spot for residents who had books to donate. Volunteers from HEF spent countless hours sorting the books by appropriate age groups so that the teachers could easily peruse the selections available and stock their classroom libraries.
“This is just another example of a partnership for our children and the community that yielded tremendous results,” Mayor Doug Tomson said in a prepared statement.
“We are thankful for the continued support of the Township and the entire community throughout this initiative,” Linda Cummings, president of HEF, said in the statement.
More than 20,000 books were donated. The day of the shopping event, 25 district teachers visited the makeshift bookstore and were able to use over 2,300 books. Approximately, 20,000 books were then boxed up and given to all the schools in the district, according to the statement.
“This was a great opportunity to repurpose these books, keeping them out of landfills, while providing additional resources for our students,” Tomson said in the statement.