Books for the Panhandle book drive was a community-wide effort coordinated by Rebeccah Lutz and Laurie Dennison, both members of the Society of Children’s Books Writers & Illustrators. We are moms, writers, and small business owners who call the Florida Panhandle home. We collected and distributed over 12,000 children’s books, in coordination with local school officials and community nonprofits, to elementary-age school children affected by Hurricane Michael.
Our first goal was to give each child in the two elementary schools in Gulf County (Port St. Joe and Wewahitchka) at least one book. We reached and exceeded this goal! We worked with Donna Thompson, the executive director of the Education Foundation of Gulf County, Inc., to distribute 1-4 books per student in December 2018.
The response and support we received was overwhelming. We also reached our stretch goal and distributed 1-3 books per student at Riverside Elementary in December 2018 and 1-6 books per student at Sneads Elementary School in January 2019, both in Jackson County. We also delivered over 3,500 books to Golson Elementary School, also in Jackson County, in February 2019.
Children of every age have an inherent need to play, create, and dream. Books inspire all of these things. Placing a book in the hands of children won’t solve their problems, BUT it will bring a smile and a temporary reprieve and help them begin to move forward.
– Rebeccah Lutz, CEO and Founder, Rebeccah Lutz Content Strategy, LLC and former managing editor of the Tallahassee Democrat
Living in Jackson County, I experienced the impact of Hurricane Michael in my home town, Sneads, Florida. Seeing the damage to my son’s school broke my heart. Recovery from this storm will be a long-term, ongoing effort, and bringing books to these children will be just one small way to show them that we know what they’ve experienced, and we want to help their transition back to school.
– Laurie Dennison, Founding Editor, The Editor Garden LLC