St. Albert students are giving back to the community using the power of literacy.

Keenooshayo Elementary School students picked out books they had researched beforehand, assembled packages and then delivered the books to students in need in the Edmonton area.

“We walked to Chapters and we determined a budget for the books. I think I prefer books to movies,” said Grade 6 student Lily Christie.

“Our project is called ‘Create a Ripple: Literacy for All,’” assistant principal Adam Rurka said.

“It’s a project designed to empower students and teach them a little about poverty along the way. Literacy is an important way of breaking the cycle of poverty. If you can’t read or write you have a difficult time overcoming that.”

Christie said she had fun picking out some of her favourite books to gift to other kids.

“I like books because they teach me about adventure and life lessons. I thought of which books I liked… Those are the ones I picked.”

Rurka said this has been a great learning experience for students.

The packages were delivered personally by the students.

“We got on a bus and we took the books to a school with less books than us,” said Christie.

“It makes me feel really happy that other kids are getting books to read from us,” said Grade 5 student Adam Timmons.

Funding for the project is part of a grant from United Way’s Dentons Make Your Mark On Poverty, which supports student-led projects that take action against local poverty.

“We were a good fit for this project because we’re always looking for ways students can get involved by taking action,” Rurka said.

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