Members of Phi Kappa Phi are working to improve literacy locally and teach people the joy of reading through a Little Free Library.
Phi Kappa Phi is a national honor society with chapters on college campuses across the nation. Since 2014, the organization has hosted an annual book drive to promote literacy. The drive allows for chapters to collect books or monetary donations which can then be donated to each chapter’s organization of choice.
In Spring 2019, the Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) chapter raised money on campus as part of a national book drive.
To the surprise of its members, TAMUK’s chapter of Phi Kappa Phi raised the most money and won a competition.
“It was our first time ever doing it, so we didn’t expect to win. So, when we received the news that we had won it was like wow. It was a big shock,” said Kayla Canales, one of the Phi Kappa Phi members who organized the book drive.
Vice-president and graduate student Carina Villarreal attributes TAMUK’s success with the book drive to the generosity of the campus community who helped the chapter donate the most money.
“Once they learned the reason, they were really supportive.[Since] there is an ATM here, people would say, ‘Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t have money,’… and then they would just go pull out money…we appreciate it,” Villarreal said.
As a reward for raising the most money, the chapter was offered the option to create a Little Free Library on campus or a trip to Student Leadership Summit in summer 2019. The Kingsville chapter decided to create a Little Free Library.
“It’s valuable because there is a lot of people who might not have the resources, like they might not go to the public library, they might not have a library card or something so that’s kind of just another way to get books and to promote [people] to read,” Canales said.
The little library is located in front of the Conner Museum and is available for anyone to visit. The library works on a give and take basis meaning anyone can borrow a book and anyone can put a book in.
“The Little Free Library is a freestanding box where anyone can donate and borrow books in an effort to promote literacy throughout communities- a prize that fits well with the Society’s love of learning and literacy,” a Phi Kappa Phi news release said.
As part of the book drive, the Kingsville chapter chose to which organization to donate their money.
On two different occasions, Phi Kappa Phi members tabled in the MSUB where they collected more than $360.
This money was then donated to
the Kingsville Housing Authority Youth Center, an after-school program for children of families that live in public housing.