Tiffanie Quinn: Holiday Book Drive

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Citizen Scholar Tiffanie Quinn gives the gift of reading this holiday season

Sophomores Tiffanie Quinn and Imani Cole knew they wanted to do something different this season to get into the holiday spirit. Their solution: Give the gift of reading.

“We came up with the idea when we were sitting in our dorm one day, talking about all the books we had sitting around at home,” said Quinn, an Apparel and Textile Design major. “We had previously discussed collaborating on a donation-based drive, so a book drive seemed like a great idea.”

The drive took place from November 14th to December 12th, 2017, right in time for the holidays. Although Quinn and Cole accepted any kind of book, they wanted to collect children’s texts specifically because of the impact reading had on them when they were children.

“Bringing up our favorite books brought us back to how much joy getting lost in a great book brought us as a kid,” said Cole, a Business major. “We each had hundreds of books at home and we thought it would be great to pass that joy on to those students coming after us.”

To spread the word, the two told family and friends about the drive. They also reached out to local organizations for support, many of which were eager to help.

“I called local book stores and big chain stores like Meijer, telling them about our initiative and asking for donations,” said Quinn. “Most stores agreed to give us donations.”

They also sought support from fellow MSU students, encouraging them to donate old books they were no longer using.

“Most of our donations came from the students in our community, which was surprising,” said Quinn. “It was amazing to see students contacting me so eager to help out.”   

In addition to collecting physical donations, Quinn and Cole accepted monetary donations that they used to buy even more books. Their final count came to 2,187 books, which they stored in their dorm room at Michigan State until giving them to Lansing Public Schools, Boys & Girls Club of Lansing, and Advent House.

Cole expressed how the book drive not only allowed her to give back to the community, but provided her with a rewarding experience as well.

“It was so fulfilling for me to see the immediate response from family and friends, and eventually people we’d never met,” she said. “This experience drove me to want to do so much more. I have no idea what kind of project I want to tackle next, but I’m eager to get to it.”  

Quinn specifically viewed the book drive as an opportunity to further her learning and involvement as a member of the Citizen Scholars program.

“As a Citizen Scholar, I think it is important to engage in the community around me through various activities, including community service,” she said. “The book drive allowed me to give back to my community and become a more engaged citizen leader.” 

Quinn and Cole could not be more grateful to the East Lansing community for making their initiative a success. 

“Imani and I are just glad we could make an impact on Lansing’s youth this holiday season,” said Quinn. “We wouldn’t have been able to do it without the generosity of all the students, staff, and friends on campus.”

Written by Grace Beltowski, Citizen Scholars

Updated 10:29:30, 2018-02-01