SANFORD, NC - Wednesday afternoon marked a banner day for the “K Kids Club” at W.B. Wicker Elementary School. The group of just over a dozen young people cut the ribbon to open a “Lending Library” just outside the main entrance to the school and stocked it with a few of their choice titles.
The K Kids Club is affiliated with the Kiwanis Club and works to do service projects throughout the school year. “Last year, the club did a lot of service projects inside the school building that impacted students at our school,” said Aimee Petrarca, Principal at W.B. Wicker. “This year the students wanted to do something that could touch the community outside of our walls at Wicker.”
The Lending Library is a free, community book exchange where anyone can borrow books or drop off gently used titles that they no longer need. The group stocked the library with an assortment of their favorite titles. They will maintain responsibility for checking the library regularly and ensuring it is neat and organized.
“We wanted to help people who don’t really have books at their house,” said Connor Pedley, the President of the K Kids Club at W.B. Wicker, who had the honor of cutting the ribbon on the Lending Library Wednesday afternoon. “We were proud of ourselves, because we realized we were doing something good for the community. It was great to be able to remember the people who did all the hard work.”
Each student that was part of the project signed their name on the bottom shelf of the Lending Library and took part in the ceremony to cut the ribbon and stock the shelves. The Lending Library is located just outside the gate at W.B. Wicker Elementary at the Vance Street entrance to the school.
“Reading is such a fundamental part of education,” noted Dr. Chris Dossenbach, Superintendent of Lee County Schools. “Having easy access to books is a critical component of helping everyone in our community thrive. I am truly proud of these students’ awareness of needs around them and willingness to take action to provide for a need in their community.”