A big THANK YOU to everyone that participated in the book drive to benefit inmates, helping to collect over 1,000 books! This incredible project was initiated by Michael Galvin, a Business Administration student at Hudson Valley Community College.
Michael recognized that the incarcerated population needed a way to better their education and understood the importance of access to books. For Michael, thought turns into action. He contacted the library coordinator at the NYS Department of Correction and Community Supervision and started to put the plan together.
With the support of members of the Phi Theta Kappa Chapter at HVCC and staff from Student Activities, the Marvin Library, Communications & Marketing and the Graphics & Print Shop, the plan came into action. Flyers were posted and collection bins were placed around campus. Members of the HVCC community and beyond generously donated new and gently used books.
At the end of the collection, PTK members Joshua Kiefer, Ameera Aftab and Stephanie Phillips joined Michael to sort through all the books and box them up for transport. Thanks to Joe Bode in Central Receiving, all of the boxes perfectly fit into the college’s Chevy Equinox and were transported to the Green Correctional Facility in Coxsackie.
The culmination of this service project is a testament to the power of an idea, the persistence to put a plan into action and the impact of helping those who sometimes may feel forgotten, but never should.
