‘Books and Bears' event spreads love of reading

<p>ASU's Beta Phi Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi Honor Society and the Mary Lou Fulton College of Education's Office of Professional Field Experience delivered more than 80 books and bears to four first-grade classrooms at Capitol Elementary School in Phoenix Dec. 1.</p><separator></separator><p><img src="http://asu.edu/news/stories/200612/200612_images/20061213_booksbears.jp…; alt hspace="5" vspace="5" width="432" height="288" align="right">The donation is part of the annual “Books and Bears Holiday Drive,” which delivers toys and popular children's books to Valley-area first-graders to help them discover the joy of reading.</p><separator></separator><p>“We believe we are making an impact on our community by assisting first-grade students as they begin their journey toward a lifelong love of reading,” says Karen Kimerer, director of the Office of Professional Field Experience and the ASU chapter's counselor.</p><separator></separator><p>Each holiday season, volunteers collect donated books and teddy bears from individuals within ASU and the surrounding area, and from local businesses and corporations that support the program. This year, the Supply Chain Management Student Association, a student organization comprising 120 students in the W. P. Carey School 's supply chain management program, made a generous donation of 20 books and bears to the holiday drive.</p><separator></separator><p>The donated books and bears are paired, then wrapped and tied in red and green ribbons, before being delivered to designated schools where they are presented to the youngsters. During the visit, volunteers model reading to a bear while the children listen. Following the presentation, the students each are given a book and a bear.</p><separator></separator><p>“The program reaches children in schools throughout the Valley that accept ASU student teachers and interns on a regular basis and that serve either socioeconomically diverse or underrepresented students,” Kimerer says.</p><separator></separator><p>The honor society chapter and field experience office have been teaming up for nearly 16 years, and they have distributed more than 1,750 books and bears to Valley-area first-graders.</p><separator></separator><p>For more information, contact Deborah Muscat, with the Mary Lou Fulton College of Education, at (480) 965-7554 or (dmuscat@asu.edu).</p><separator></separator><!-- InstanceEndEditable --> <div id="contactInfo"> <p class="contactPhoneNumber"><a href="mailto:paula.miller@asu.edu">Paula Miller</a>, paula.miller@asu.edu<br>(480) 965-4812</p><separator></separator></div></p>