Emily Conrad sees nothing special in her efforts to help bring books into the
hands of less fortunate individuals.
"It just seems normal to me," Emily said.
Emily, 13, an eighth-grader at Spartanburg
Day School, has realized the importance a book can have in a kid's life.
Two years ago, Emily helped organize the Spartanburg
Day School chapter of the Need to Read book club.
The club is an organization for middle-school teens that inspires teenagers
to read. It holds monthly meetings that include guest speakers, games and
crafts. The club also gives its members an incentive for reading that can be
found in its motto: "It's all about teens making a difference through
reading."
The club's incentive for reading is to help give something back to the
community, Emily said. And the club has done just that.
In the spring of 2005, the club raised more than $2,400 and purchased more
than 600 books, which were distributed to less fortunate children.
This spring, the club purchased a couple hundred books with $2,000 it raised
and again gave those books to underprivileged children.
"It's a wonderful feeling to see the look on the kids' faces when you hand
them a book," Emily said.
The club has received such a good response from the city that it has become a
part of its 175th anniversary celebration.
This weekend, the Need to Read book club, Barnes & Noble Booksellers and
the city of Spartanburg
are co-sponsoring a "Summer Reading Bash." A percentage of all purchases made
from Friday through Sunday at Barnes & Noble at 1489 W.O. Ezell Blvd. will
be given to the Need To Read book club to buy books for children at the Spartanburg
Soup Kitchen and Boys and Girls Club of the Upstate.
"What we're hoping to do is to get enough money so that we can buy books for
these kids, and to generate publicity so that we can open more chapters of the
club and help more people," Emily said.
The fair will include live music, raffles, a storytime session with
characters from the Greer
Children's Theatre's production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," and a
magic act and story from NewsChannel 7 weatherman Jack Roper.
For more information on the club and fair, visit the Need to Read book club's
Web site at www.needtoreadbookclub.org.
