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Lake Zurich students donate thousands of books to literacy outreach

Posted May 06, 2015 1:00 am

By Gilbert R. Boucher II

Fourth grader Spencer Hahn looks at books inside Bess the Book Bus after a book drive Wednesday led by the Student Leadership Team at Isaac Fox Elementary School in Lake Zurich. The books will be donated to underprivileged children across the country. Gilbert R. Boucher II/gboucher@dailyherald.com

Students at Isaac Fox Elementary School celebrated a record-setting performance Wednesday as they donated more than 4,700 books so that less fortunate children have something to read at home.

"This is the most books a school has collected," said Jennifer Frances, who founded the organization Bess the Book Bus to get books into the homes of needy families. "I've been over the whole country and I have never had a school get together like this."

Frances met Wednesday with members of the school's Student Leadership Team, which organized the book collection drive after fifth grader Karlee Walsh suggested it.

"(The books) go to kids around the country who live in really poor areas and it builds home libraries," Karlee said after loading books onto a bus with help from volunteers and the leadership team. "It was really fun, and we got 4,700 and something books to make a lot of kids happy."

Bess the Book Bus is a mobile literacy outreach program whose mission is to bring books to underprivileged children and families across America.

"We have a really generous community that loves to read,"Isaac Fox Principal Lisa Gregoire said.

Student Leadership Team members Karlee Walsh, right, Paige Batchelor and Victoria Zbierowski load books into Bess the Book Bus during a book drive Wednesday at Isaac Fox Elementary School in Lake Zurich. The books will be donated to underprivileged children across the country. Gilbert R. Boucher II/gboucher@dailyherald.com

A book drive for Bess the Book Bus organized by the Student Leadership Team at Isaac Fox Elementary School in Lake Zurich collected more than 4,700 books for needy families. Gilbert R. Boucher II/gboucher@dailyherald.com

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