Shyla Wadlington, School Librarian at Aspire Academy, partnered with U.S. Congresswoman Cori Bush (D-St. Louis) in securing brand new books for her students from the Library of Congress “Surplus Book Program” in Washington, D. C. The book donation will be added to Aspire Academy’s school library collection.
On June 21, 2023, Aspire Academy received 68 brand new books worth an estimated value of $1,678.24. They received books from the following genres: African-American History, US State books, biographies, etc. “Sing a Song: How to Lift Every Voice and Sing Inspired Generations,” written by Kelly Starling Lyons, and “Pepper In My Pancakes,” written by Chloe Howard are some of the book titles.
This contribution would not have been made possible without the help of various community partners, volunteers, and interns who gathered, packed, and shipped the books from Washington D.C. to St. Louis.
Aspire Academy students are excited about receiving their new books. They created a thank you video and thank you card to show their gratitude to Representative Bush.