Last spring, COVID-19 paused everything. Slowly we found our way back to a new virtual and socially distanced normal. As summer arrived some of Beaverton’s students were in need of some addition help. Luckily Camp Achieve, a program focused on limiting summer slide, recently transitioned their reading and math curriculum to an online format becoming the perfect solution to support the increased needs of distance learners.
One of the hallmarks of previous years of Camp Achieve was library access and specific personalized teacher recommendations for student participants. While this was a bit different this year, teachers identified books specific to each Camp Achieve participants’ interests and reading levels, BEF began the search to buy books for the program. Given the urgent turnaround time, this was no easy feat – that’s when local literary mainstay, Powell’s Books, quite literally delivered on time.
Thanks to Powell’s, each Camp Achieve participant received five new books in the mail. Since the books were carefully selected for each participant, students had an instant interest in the material provided. Staff followed up with the students, encouraging regular dialogue and worked toward creating opportunities to grow their reading work into a literary habit. Ultimately, the books not only provided a connection to the outside world but something so much bigger, a love of reading. This work could not have been accomplished without Powell’s Books and is an example of the exponential impact that occurs when local resources stay in the community. When we work together, we can do so much more to build a better tomorrow.