Friday, March 17, 2023
Subscriber Login
My Profile
SpotlightNews
  • Home
  • News
    • Election 2022
    • Business
      • Spotlight On Business
      • Spotlight on Finance
    • Crime and Police
    • Discover-Towns
      • Discover Coeymans Selkirk and Feura Bush
      • Discover Delmar
      • Discover Glenmont
      • Discover Guilderland
      • Discover Latham and Boght
      • Discover Loudonville
      • Discover Menands
      • Discover Slingerlands
      • Discover Village of Colonie
      • Discover Voorheesville and New Scotland
    • Fire Departments
    • Government
    • Milestones
    • Schools
    • Sports
    • Obituaries
  • The Spot 518
    • Galleries
    • Art
    • Food and Recipes
    • Health & Fitness
    • Music
    • Theatre
  • Hot Spots Calendar
    • Calendar Listings
    • Submit Your Event
  • Opinion
    • Blogs
    • Our Opinion
    • Point of View
    • Your Opinion
  • Family Now
    • Parenting News
    • Senior News
  • Towns
    • Albany County
    • Bethlehem
    • Colonie
    • Guilderland
    • New Scotland
  • Classifieds
    • Employment – Hire Power
    • Services In the Spotlight
    • Classified Listings
    • Advertiser Login
  • Subscribe
    • Subscriber login
    • Give the gift of news
    • Join us – subscribe today
    • Newsletter sign up
    • Renew Subscription
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Election 2022
    • Business
      • Spotlight On Business
      • Spotlight on Finance
    • Crime and Police
    • Discover-Towns
      • Discover Coeymans Selkirk and Feura Bush
      • Discover Delmar
      • Discover Glenmont
      • Discover Guilderland
      • Discover Latham and Boght
      • Discover Loudonville
      • Discover Menands
      • Discover Slingerlands
      • Discover Village of Colonie
      • Discover Voorheesville and New Scotland
    • Fire Departments
    • Government
    • Milestones
    • Schools
    • Sports
    • Obituaries
  • The Spot 518
    • Galleries
    • Art
    • Food and Recipes
    • Health & Fitness
    • Music
    • Theatre
  • Hot Spots Calendar
    • Calendar Listings
    • Submit Your Event
  • Opinion
    • Blogs
    • Our Opinion
    • Point of View
    • Your Opinion
  • Family Now
    • Parenting News
    • Senior News
  • Towns
    • Albany County
    • Bethlehem
    • Colonie
    • Guilderland
    • New Scotland
  • Classifieds
    • Employment – Hire Power
    • Services In the Spotlight
    • Classified Listings
    • Advertiser Login
  • Subscribe
    • Subscriber login
    • Give the gift of news
    • Join us – subscribe today
    • Newsletter sign up
    • Renew Subscription
No Result
View All Result
Spotlight News
No Result
View All Result
Home Towns Colonie

Sand Creek collects 12,000 books for library in Guyana (W/photo gallery)

Jim Franco by Jim Franco
June 29, 2022
in Colonie, News, Schools, Towns
Reading Time: 3 mins read

COLONIE — “A room without books is like a body without a soul.” So said Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero sometime prior to his death in 43 BC.

It was true more than 2,000 years ago, and still rings true for the some 550 people who live in the tiny Village of Annai in the South American country of Guyana — it had a library, but it didn’t have any books.

A teacher at Sand Creek Middle School, Beverly Hayles, who works with Backpack International, learned of the bookless library and talked to another teacher, Melissa Moskov, about it. The two brought the idea of collecting books to the Student Council and the Blessing of the Books campaign was born.

“They were excited from the start and with their hard work and efforts they got the entire Sand Creek building and the community involved in this project,” Moskov said of the students.

The goal was to collect 5,000 books and on Wednesday, June 22, 12,000 books were loaded on a U-Haul. After making a stop in Hudson to pick up some chairs for the library, the books will be loaded on a barge in New York City to make the three-week trip to Annai. Along with the books were scores of bookmarks, made by Sand Creek Middle School students, and signs from the students in Colonie saying “hi” to those in Annai.

“It was amazing we were able to get so many books collected. It was more than double our goal of 5,000 books. Some people didn’t believe we could do it but we did it,” said Arianna Fowles, a member of the Sand Creek Student Council. “I think it is great that we can help people in need.”

Backpack International is a non-profit organization with the mission of equipping students in need with what they need for academic success. It has helped students in seven countries with backpacks filled with things like school supplies, hygiene products, shots, bicycles and books.

“We went the Village of Annai in the interior of Guyana and they had this beautiful building designated for a library but the only problem was they didn’t have any books,” said Angel Rodriguez, chairman of the BPI Board of Directors. “So we began talking about it and got the idea of collecting books. So we had the vision how do we bring it to pass?

He said Hayles, who is his mother in law and head of the New York Chapter of BPI, brought it to the students at Sand Creek Middle School “and they ran with it.”

“This school not only has impacted this area but they now have a global impact,” he said.

Hayles said she and BPI visited another community in Guyana last year to deliver bicycles so children could get to school and learned of another community that had a library without any books.

Hayles went to Moskov and they in turn brought it to the Student Council.

“This is Blessings of Books and this project started when Mc. Moskov and myself and the Student Council realized they didn’t have a library and we decided to do something about it,” Hayles said.

Over the last few months, the books were collected from students, their families, their families friends and co-workers and countless of others in the community.

“It’s amazing. We had a really fun end of the school year and it’s a great way to send the kids home for the summer, giving them an opportunity to give back,” said Sand Creek Middle School Principal Michael Marohn. “We collected 12,000 books and that is pretty impressive. I am looking forward to finding out how out books go to use in the village.”

The majority of people in Sand Creek, and likely in Colonie as a whole, may have heard of Guyana but safe to say not many have heard of the Village of Annai. And it’s as likely those in Annai have never heard of Colonie. Superintendent Dave Perry said he when he heard about the project, he tried looking at an old globe to find Annai, and then did more research about the tiny village.

“This is just fantastic. It’s a great opportunity for our community to give to another community in another country,” he said. “What greater asset to put books in kids hands and help our kids learn about the world.”

books for guyana web-7218
books for guyana web-7568
books for guyana web-7781
books for guyana web-7485
books for guyana web-7419
books for guyana web-7467
books for guyana web-7669
books for guyana web-7348
books for guyana web-7631
books for guyana web-7621
books for guyana web-7228
books for guyana web-7498
books for guyana web-7602
books for guyana web-7206
books for guyana web-7685
books for guyana web-7334
books for guyana web-7278
books for guyana web-7181
books for guyana web-7636
books for guyana web-7267
books for guyana web-7348
books for guyana web-7441
books for guyana web-7527
books for guyana web-7398
books for guyana web-7328
books for guyana web-7190
books for guyana web-7302
books for guyana web-7184
books for guyana web-7252
ShareTweetShareShare
Previous Post

Neighbors not happy with Albany Street subdivision

Next Post

Glenmont residents angry over the clearcutting of trees along River Road

Leave Comment

Stay Connected with Us

Recent News

RCS Community Library news: Wednesday movies

March 16, 2023

Voorheesville Public Library news: MUSH! with Noggin the Sled Dog

March 16, 2023

Bethlehem Public Library news: Listen up

March 16, 2023

Guilderland Public Library news: Women’s History Month

March 16, 2023

Hot Stories This Week

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest

Threat triggers North Colonie, police into action

March 12, 2023

Bethlehem Area Weekly Police Blotter March 1st – March 8th

March 11, 2023

Plug-powered airliner takes off

March 15, 2023

Colonie Area Weekly Police Blotter March 1st – March 8th

March 12, 2023

RCS Community Library news: Wednesday movies

March 16, 2023

Voorheesville Public Library news: MUSH! with Noggin the Sled Dog

March 16, 2023

Bethlehem Public Library news: Listen up

March 16, 2023

Guilderland Public Library news: Women’s History Month

March 16, 2023
Spotlight News

Spotlight News, The Spot 518 and Capital District Family Now are divisions of Community Media Group, LLC. Our local offices are located at 341 Delaware Ave, Delmar, NY 12054. You can contact us at 518.439.4949.

Browse

Follow Us

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact the Editor
  • Employment
  • Our Team
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Legal Notices Portal

© 2022 Community Media Group, LLC - 341 Delaware Ave. Delmar, NY 12054. 518.439.4949

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Election 2022
  • News
    • Crime and Police
    • Fire Departments
    • Milestones
    • Real Estate and Housing
    • Schools
    • Sports
    • Spotlight On Business
    • Spotlight on Finance
  • The Spot 518
    • Galleries
    • Art
    • Theatre
    • Music
    • Food and Drink
    • Health & Fitness
  • Hot Spots Calendar
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Opinion
  • Classifieds
    • Advertiser Login
    • Service Directory
    • Hire Power – Employer Spotlight
  • Capital District Family Now
    • Parenting News
    • Senior News
  • Towns
    • Albany County
    • Bethlehem
    • Colonie
    • Guilderland
  • Log In
  • Subscribe

© 2022 Community Media Group, LLC - 341 Delaware Ave. Delmar, NY 12054. 518.439.4949