Next month, more than 20,000 Rotarians from more than 100 countries will converge on Los Angeles for their 99th annual convention. And they will bring enough books to get Rotary into the Guinness Book of Records for gathering the greatest number of books collected in a seven-day period. The Malibu Rotary Club will do its part by holding a book collection May 9-11 at Ralphs Market.
This Commemorative Project aims to collect a quarter of a million books, which will be distributed by the Los Angeles Times’ Reading by 9 program for K-3 students in public elementary schools in Southern California and Southern Nevada. This program stresses that from preschool to third-grade, children learn to read; from 3rd grade on, they read to learn.
Books that are needed include new and gently used fiction and nonfiction, soft and hardcover, children-appropriate books for children up to age nine. Because the children who will receive these books speak more than 100 languages, books in all languages are welcome.
“Our local schools, the Chamber of Commerce, the Artifac Tree and the Pepperdine Rotaract Club are working with us to make this book collection a big success,” said Malibu Rotary President-elect Granville “Bow” Bowman. “This is a wonderful opportunity for the entire community to be a part of this exciting, worldwide literary effort. We will provide book plates for donors to sign and put into their donated books.”
The Malibu Rotary Club’s collection will take place May 9-11 from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in front of Ralphs.