NHS hosts book drive for Harford County Public Library

Over 600 items were collected at JC and delivered to the library

Maddie Root, Managing Editor

The National Honor Society began collecting items for the Harford County Public Library (HCPL) during February. In early March, over 600 donations made their way to the HCPL.

This is the first year that the NHS has hosted a book drive for the Bel Air branch of the HCPL. Students were asked to donate chapter books, children’s books, cookbooks, puzzles, and DVDs.
The library will use the donations to help advance multiple aspects of the library. NHS Co-Moderator Courtney Von Lange said, “The library will sell the books and items at their monthly book sales. The library uses the proceeds from that to expand the library’s collection with new items and support the wide variety of programs the library offers for all ages of patrons. Some of our NHS members tutor middle school students as part of their NHS service and use the library as a public meeting place.”
The number of donations were counted on March 1. In total, the JC community donated over 600 different books, puzzles, and DVDs. The donations were dropped off at the library on March 2 in the afternoon.
JC students were able to earn service hours for helping sort and count the donations for the library. Junior Chloe Davies helped gather books and load them into Mrs. Von Lange’s car after school.
Chloe said, “I felt happy and grateful that I was able to give back to our community. We often take what we have for granted, and it was great to do something that will help those who need and want access to books.”
NHS President Chloe Connolly said, “The NHS decided to have a book drive for the Harford County Public Library because National Read Across America Day was on March 2, 2022, and March is also National Reading Month. Our drive led up to Read Across America Day, which made it a great opportunity to donate to the HCPL.”
Regarding if the NHS will continue the book drive next year, Mrs. Von Lange said, “We are not sure yet. We would like to allow next year’s officers and members to come up with ideas of what interests and motivates them the most.”
To everyone that donated, Mrs. Von Lange said, “We can’t thank you enough for your support. Several parents, grandparents, and faculty and staff also gave large donations. They were all greatly appreciated.”