To give back to the community, the Creative Writing Club is hosting a used book drive from Feb. 6-17. All donations will be given to, and distributed, by Spread the Word Nevada. 

“They’ll take used books and give them to underprivileged communities throughout Nevada, like schools that don’t have many books in their libraries,” Creative Writing Club President Ava Torres said. “They make sure those kids have an opportunity to read books that they may not have otherwise.” 

They are primarily looking for books for K-5 reading levels, but are open to any donations. There will be drop-off locations in the library, cafeteria and room C109.

“When I was younger, I went to a school that was fairly new and still didn’t have a lot of library books,” Torres said. “Last year when I was heading the National Junior Honor Society, we decided to do a used book drive, and it was a collaborative effort that I think would be really nice to bring to this school as well.”

This marks the first school-wide event for the newly formed club. Members met earlier this month to decorate and place donation boxes. 

“We’ve had this idea for a while, but going back and forth between the administration was difficult since there are a lot of restrictions we weren’t aware of,” Torres said. “It was discouraging at first, but once we finally got it, I think it was worth it. The main struggle was figuring out how we’re going to do it, and the times we could meet and get it together since it’s short notice.” 

The club hopes that this will be a recurring donation drive in years to come, and encourages others to help the community. 

“We want to have it next year, and the year after, and I’d love to have one in the fall and spring,” Terry said. “It’s a great way to give back to the community and then you’re not throwing books away or letting them gather dust in your house. A lot of us read a book and we never look at it again, so let’s donate it and give it to the people who can use it.