I wrote a press release; it's been a while

Washington County Schools Help New Jersey Shore Schools Restock Libraries

Hillsboro, Ore., January 22, 2013—Hurricane Sandy. It seems so long ago what with the intervening holidays and school and mall shootings and life in general. But it happened just in late October 2012 and three months later clean up continues.

Damage to homes and the shore boardwalk have been reported on even on this side of the country, but missing from the reports has been the damage to school libraries. Books and water don’t really mix, and New Jersey shore schools need to restock their shelves. Enter LaRonda Famodu, a Hillsboro resident and independent educational consultant with Usborne Books & More.

“A New Jersey Usborne consultant named Mary Beth Spitz came up with the idea to host a series of literacy events to generate free books for the affected schools,” says Famodu. “I am just happy to follow her lead and help in this small way.”

The small way: Flyers will be sent home with students at five Hillsboro elementary schools asking parents to purchase a book or two or three for their own children from a special Web link. Based on sales from that link, Usborne Books & More will match book sales 100% with an equal amount of free books for the Jersey schools in need. This book-raiser is being conducted in partnership with the nonprofit Reading Council of Southern New Jersey.

“I have been active in the PTA and active in the community through my business. So when I decided to help with this book-raiser, I immediately thought of my PTA friends at schools in the district,” says Famodu, who has three children of her own. “I approached my PTA contacts at Jackson, Imlay, Quatama, Brookwood, and Mooberry. Everyone was excited to help. And now that we have approval from the district, the flyers will be making their way home. Jacobsen’s Books on Main Street even put flyers out for me!”

The book-raiser runs until Wednesday, January 30, 2013, and has already generated $365 just through Facebook shares. “I have a local friend who’s originally from New Jersey who’s thanked me for doing this. I have friends who already have tons of Usborne books who have participated because it’s for a good cause,” Famodu says. “I am so grateful to represent a generous company and great children’s books. That 100% match really made me think, if the company can do that then I can e-mail a few friends. I’d love to see that sales number climb to at least $500, but I am sure we can do much better than that.”

If you’d like to participate in the book-raiser, the Web link is https://L2548.myubam.com/13970.  Monetary donations can be made to the reading council at www.rcsnj.webs.com or checks may be mailed, payable to RCSNJ, to RCSNJ, PO Box 69, Mt. Ephraim, NJ 08059.