By Chelsea Cabral, Managing Editor
UMass Dartmouth’s Alpha Eta Alpha Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi is integrating service with learning, as their fresh book drive project creates a path towards better educational opportunities for schools with limited access or funding.
The Alpha Eta Alpha Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi is an international honor society on the UMass Dartmouth campus that recognizes outstanding student contributions to education. The society, which consists of a network of devout educators working to support quality education for all, is launching a campus-wide book drive to support students at Holy Family Holy Name School in New Bedford, Mass.
Current graduate students in the EDU 549 course will be practicing diagnosing Holy Family Holy Name students with learning disabilities this semester, with members of Kappa Delta Pi helping support the already impoverished catholic school that lacks many important educational resources.
What started as an opportunity for graduate education students looking to pursue special education certifications, has branched out to a becoming a full-fledged community service project.
“The book drive was a shared idea between Dr. Sheila Macrine (the organization’s advisor) and myself,” said Meghan Daley, Alpha Eta Alpha’s Chapter President. “We wanted to carry out a service project that would best reflect the Kappa Delta Pi mission of bettering education opportunities for as many students as possible.”
With involvement from the campus community, members of Alpha Eta Alpha will be working to sort through donated books for grade levels K-12 to create a comprehensive on-site library for the school. Members are also seeking to include making book donations tax deductible by providing receipts for the value of the books should donators choose to do so.
“An on-site library is an invaluable resource for early education schools because it helps instill an appreciation for literacy in young students,” said Daley. “As active and future educators, the members of Kappa Delta Pi eagerly seek to increase opportunities for literacy, especially in schools such as HFHN in New Bedford, Mass.”
Drop-off locations for book donations will be located outside Dean Jeannette Riley’s Office in LArts 397.
For further details on the book drive, or on the Alpha Eta Alpha Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi and how to join, please direct all inquiries to Chapter President Meghan Daley.