ENACTUS, a student-run, non-profit organization, is calling on members of the Bonaventure community to round up their dusty children’s books and donate them to those in need.
Each year, club members are given the opportunity to attend “legacy trips” to the Bahamas in order to put their leadership skills into action.
As part of this year’s trip, ENACTUS members said they hope to restock the bookshelves of Bahamian libraries. Members said libraries were seriously impacted by recent Hurricane Joaquin, a category four hurricane, according to weather.com.
The book drive will run until Dec. 17, and all donations can be left in the ENACTUS room (Swan 100). Both elementary- and middle school-level books are acceptable.
ENACTUS, formerly referred to as Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), joins student teams together and aims to give them leadership perspectives, teamwork skills and entrepreneurial mindsets. These skills are then used to design and execute legacy projects.
Taylor Douglas, a junior biology major and club member, said students will work with a number of local schools and businesses while on the Bahamas trip. She added that attendance is both a moral eye-opener and an outlet for professional experience.
“Every year, the Bahamas trip consists of teaching in schools, putting on business seminars and consulting local businesses—as well as many service projects,” Douglas said. “This year, we’ll be working in Freeport, Bahamas, from Jan. 2 to 12. We’ll be working with nine schools, teaching physical science in grades two through five. This year, we’re also conducting a science experiment in the schools, testing whether or not our science kits are effective in the schools.”
Douglas added that the group will put on three business seminars, which will focus on marketing, accounting and management.
They will also work to find homes for stray dogs, alongside the humane society, as well as painting local children’s basketball courts and redoing community baseball fields.
Both Douglas and Lawrence Hayes, a junior marketing major, said the idea to add a book drive to their agenda came from Bahamian locals.
“When our co-presidents went down to the Bahamas in October for the planning trip, they met with a lot of local schools, children’s homes and church groups that were affected by Hurricane Joaquin,” Hayes said. “A couple of the children’s homes and schools said that the students loved reading, but they didn’t really have the money to purchase any new books since a lot of their schools and homes were destroyed.”
Hayes added that this is the 13th consecutive year ENACTUS has traveled to the Bahamas, and it could likely be its most successful year yet.
“It’s important for students to get involved and be able to give back to people because we are very fortunate,” Hannah Pingelski, a sophomore undecided business major, said. “I have a strong feeling that there are many people that have children’s books lying around their house that they aren’t using anymore, and a kid in the Bahamas could definitely find more use for it than the dusty bookshelf in your basement, so, I highly encourage everyone donate!”
mcgurllt14@bonaventure.edu
