KSBY is proud to launch our fourth If You Give a Child a Book campaign.
It's an effort to raise money to provide local children with free, brand-new books to take home.
Students and staff at Oceano Elementary have been involved with several of the campaigns and spoke with KSBY about what it means to them.
“Reading is important because it fills all our brains with knowledge and if you read so much, you feel like you are in the book,” explained third grader Stephanie Lopez-Jacinto.
Fellow classmate Isaac Huchin said, “Reading is important because you need to get smarter.”
Both students have received books from KSBY’s If You Give Child a Book campaign.
Library technician Kelci Gonzalez has worked at Oceano Elementary for 10 years and has been involved with a few campaigns. She said the students' excitement for the campaign grows each year.
“When the kids hear that we get to do the free book fair again, it’s pure excitement. Literally, the first week of school they start asking me if they get to do it again," Gonzalez said. “When we talk about it, we talk about it being a gift for our school. Like, someone thinks you guys are so special they want to give you this gift. It’s one of my favorite times of the year.”
Gonzalez said the event means much more to the students than many people may realize.
“The economy is making it tough for a lot of families right now just to meet basic needs, so books have become a luxury for a lot of families. It doesn't mean they don’t think it's important but they can be hard to fit into the budget,” she explained.
Nearly 400 students at Oceano Elementary got four new books each, thanks to the last campaign.
“The whole idea behind the campaign honestly makes me get a little bit choked up. Last year, we had a TKer who said, 'I never had my very own book before,'“ Gonzalez reacalled. "Realizing now that not every family can do that and seeing that people here help make that possible is just really special.”
A donation of $6 equals one book for a child in need.
