Valpo High School Book Drive Effort Speaks Volumes

VHS-Americorps-Book-DriveAmeriCorps volunteer Meagan Jordan works hard to help students at Valparaiso High School (VHS) exceed expectations. The energetic 22 year old recently wowed everyone when her high schoolers contributed more than 800 volumes to the AmeriCorps Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Book Drive. "I challenged the VHS Academy students, whom I work with on a daily basis, to raise more books than the rest of the school or beat the record I set for the school, which was 200. They blew this goal out of the water days before the deadline."

The AmeriCorps members of the Porter County Partnership serving in Lake, Porter, La Porte, Plymouth and Starke Counties collected new books for school aged children in kindergarten through third grade. Since Dr. King believed that knowledge is power, this AmeriCorps service project aimed to collect hundreds of books for lower elementary students to read and take home to keep.

Jordan, a recent graduate of Indiana University Bloomington who is pursuing a masters degree in social work at Indiana University Northwest, believes in the spirit of service. And so do her charges, she discovered. "The students were so excited about the MLK Book Drive," Jordan explained. "They loved collecting books to give to younger kids and enjoyed being able to help in their community."

While Jordan isn't above bribery to sweeten the deal -- she offered her students a donut day if they met the goal -- she discovered that it wasn't donuts that motivated. "The kids voluntarily collected so many books and gave up many childhood favorites to make that pile of books grow," Jordan said. "They mirrored MLK's spirit of putting others first and demonstrated the kind of service we try to exemplify in AmeriCorps."

Cory Caldwell, a 15 year old freshman at VHS, said he donated because he had a lot of books at home that he wanted to contribute to a good cause. "If it can help younger kids get interested in reading, that's something I want to support," he said. Becky Graykowski, also a freshman, brought in an armload of books. "I felt bad that many children don't have books to read at home so I wanted to donate books so they have something to read when they are learning."

VHS senior Kathleen Young felt the same way.

"When I was young, I loved to read and I still do," Young said. "It's very important to me that children have an opportunity to have books."

"I wrongly assumed my students were gung-ho about the project because they wanted a donut breakfast," Jordan admitted. "But every time I asked why they donated, they attributed it to wanting to help their community. I am so proud of all of them." Jordan is especially proud of her Academy class, a select group of 45 students who donated fully half the books collected at VHS. "To have a goal of 200 and come up with 810 -- it was amazing," Jordan beamed. "Teenagers do want to help and contribute."

Jordan said she is grateful for the assistance of VHS teachers Rhonda Yelton, Matt Thomas, and Debbie Frey who helped her promote the project and drum up enthusiasm. "I've never seen such committed staff," Jordan remarked. "I'm surrounded by teachers who give their all to make a difference and by students who make the effort to lea rn and grow. I believe my contributions as an AmeriCorps volunteer are a small piece of a bigger puzzle making this country a better place."

Jordan said her role model is her grandfather, Dr. Richard Jordan, who worked as a missionary and helped many people. She has previously volunteered at a day care center for low-income families, as a tutor at an elementary school, and at a homeless shelter. "My most life-changing volunteer experience came when I spent a summer of 2010 in Yaroslav, Russia working at an orphanage," Jordan said. "It persuaded me into a career path of social service where I can make a difference."

The AmeriCorps MLK Book Drive amassed more than 3500 books for elementary students. The service project worked hand in hand with the Reading Buddies program that provides a stuffed animal "reading buddy" to whom children read for 15 minutes each day. Reading scores have increased significantly with this program. AmeriCorps volunteers spent MLK Day at the offic es of United Way of Porter County, sorting and boxing up books for elementary students. Jordan said the experience helped her learn something new, too. "You're never too old to learn," Jordan said. "I found out that students think donuts are good, but that donating is even better."

AmeriCorps is a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, an independent federal agency whose mission is to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering. Local AmeriCorps partnerships are funded by grants from the Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives. Program volunteers receive living stipends and earn education awards. Service opportunities are available in Porter and Lake Counties. For more information, contact AmeriCorps coordinator Deb Townsend at United Way of Porter County at (219) 464-3583 or via email to deb@unitedwaypc.org.

Photo: Participants in the MLK Book Drive at Valparaiso High School included [front, L to R] students Tony Heer, Brianna Adam, Cory Caldwell, and AmeriCorps volunteer Meagan Jordan, as well as teachers [back, L to R] Matt Thomas, Debbie Frey, Steve Davis, and Rhonda Yelton.