Book Drive Seeks Donations for Laundry & Literacy Project

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Vicki Collet, left, and Conra Gist

Donations of new and gently used books are being accepted at the University of Arkansas through May 2 for the “Laundry & Literacy” summer book giveaway. Collection bins are located on each floor of Peabody Hall and at the Global Campus in Rogers. 

Laundry & Literacy is a project that provides literacy experiences for low-income families while they are at Westwood Center Laundromat in Rogers. The project is led by Conra Gist and Vicki Collet, both assistant professors of childhood education in the College of Education and Health Professions. Free laundry service, a meal and story time are provided each month through a partnership with community organizations. 

At the June and July events, patrons will select one or more books as gifts. Books will be provided by donations through the book drive and through a generous donation from the Women’s Giving Circle, a University of Arkansas group that encourages women as philanthropic leaders. Although children are targeted, books for readers of all ages are welcome.

“Research suggests that providing children with books to read during summer break reduces the summer reading loss typical of low-socioeconomic status students,” Collet said. “Letting kids choose their own books makes the biggest difference, so we are hoping to collect a wide variety of books for our summer giveaways.” 

Any extra books collected will become part of the lending library bookshelf provided at the laundromat by Laundry & Literacy.

At last year’s book giveaway, about 40 people, mostly children, received two books each, building families’ at-home libraries. In addition, the lending library bookshelf is available to the hundreds of patrons who visit the laundromat each week. 

Since October 2012, Collet and Gist and their students have held story time each month while families wait for their chance to do laundry for free, a service provided by Laundry Love, a Cobblestone project, at Westwood. 

University of Arkansas students and professors have a story time for children whose parents come to take advantage of the free laundry and meal provided by a local church group. After the story is read aloud, children read with or to the students and faculty, providing literacy experiences for these children, many of whom are second-language learners. 

For more information about the book drive or about Laundry & Literacy, contact Collet at collet@uark.edu or Gist at gist@uark.edu.