Church holds Spanish book drive

As part of a continuing outreach program to impoverished children in Mexico, Sisters Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration has launched a drive to collect Spanish-language children's books. Church members hope to put together their next book shipment around the first of November.

The local Episcopal church has partnered with the First Congregational Church of San Rafael, California, in the Every Dollar Feeds Kids (EDFK) program. Acknowledging that the first step in educating children is to make sure they are adequately fed, EDFK believes that health and education go hand in hand.

Accordingly, EDFK provides nutritious breakfasts, dinners, and vitamin supplements for children of poverty-stricken families. Typical breakfasts include milk, cereal and fruit; and dinners feature typical Mexican dishes such as rice, beans, tortillas, soup and fruit. Each meal costs only 37 cents, and the cost to feed 100 children is less than $3,500 per year.

EDFK's first fully funded project has targeted a small village near the Mexican city of Cuernavaca, about an hour south of Mexico City.

Book drive coordinator Stephanie King visited the community last year and describes the region as "the real Mexico." She added, "Every couple of years, a few members of our church go down to Cuernavaca to see first hand what is going on and what the needs are."

King said there are seven schools now operating in the area for children who cannot afford to attend regular schools.

"Upon touring the schools and visiting with their directors," she said, "we found that there are very few books available to these children in their own Spanish language. When we got back to Sisters, we decided to have a book drive at our church in November."

That was last year, and the group collected 70 children's books in Spanish and sent them to Cuernavaca. "They were ecstatic to get the books," she said. "This will be our second annual book drive, and we hope to have many more books to send."

Now, King is looking to expand the program's book drive into the surrounding Sisters area community as a whole.

"Primarily we are looking for children's picture books, although any children's books in good shape in Spanish will be accepted. We will also accept donations that will be used to purchase additional books to send down to Mexico."

The Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration has made a long-term commitment to EDFK, and this is the second recent activity in support of the organization. An EDFK benefit performance by John Muir impersonator Don Baldwin will also take place Thursday evening at the church.

Spanish children's books, or donations for the books, may be dropped off at the Church of the Transfiguration during office hours Tuesday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., anytime Sunday morning, or given directly to Stephanie King. For further information, contact King at 549-1058 or [email protected]

Organizers hope to wrap up this year's book drive on Sunday, November 1.