Eager attendees came early this past Saturday, November 22 to Kingsville’s Lions Hall looking for a treasure or two at a book giveaway overseen by volunteers from Kingsville Community Centre and staff from Essex County Library.
A few years back, former library branch assistant and currently the Mayor of Essex/Board Chair of Essex County Library Sherry Bondy happened to notice that books taken out of circulation from county libraries were being discarded and wanted to do something to give those books a new life.
She decided to hold a book giveaway in her Harrow driveway. From there, a second was held in Essex, and the idea of a book giveaway then found its way to Kingsville.
“It’s a great way to support literacy,” said Bondy. “So many different groups are helped by these giveaways, from homeschoolers to teachers building a classroom library to filling ‘little libraries’ in our communities.”
The book event in Kingsville was made up of not only books from the county libraries, but also books gathered by members of the Kingsville Community Centre.
“Our centre is always looking for ways to connect to the community,” said Executive Director Kim DeYong. “We’ve had clothing swaps, bike giveaways, and this event allows our seniors to do some intergenerational work for and with the younger members of our town.”
With momentum built from the success of the giveaway in Kingsville, Mayor Bondy plans to next hold a similar event in McGregor and an intention to provide free books to other parts of the county.
