Phi Theta Kappa Leaders Unite in Effort to Aid Needy Students in Africa
Very soon, college students in Africa, some of whom have never owned a book,
will receive a special gift: Thousands of textbooks are on their way, and
Phi Theta Kappa helped send them!
Many Phi Theta Kappa representatives
were involved in the effort to collect and deliver these textbooks - members,
advisors, regional coordinators, chapter and regional officers and college
presidents - in Iowa, where the project began, and in Minnesota, where it
ended.
Executive Director Rod Risley also flew from Mississippi
to Iowa, to accompany Des Moines Area Community College President Robert
Denson, who drove the truckload of books collected by Iowa chapters to St.
Paul, Minnesota.
At a time when much of the news is not good, this
is the kind of story that reminds us that people really do care about each
other, and that Americans are willing to reach out and help people of different
nations, races and faiths, whose faces they will never see. It's a story
of how a few people with an idea can make a difference, and how ordinary people
working together can overcome obstacles that have defeated bureaucracies.
For
the past year, Iowa chapters of Phi Theta Kappa have collected books for
Pages of Promise,
an organization created by Iowa State University students to provide educational
materials to African colleges whose supplies range from meager to non-existent.
Melissa Magin, a student at Des Moines Area Community College
and Northwest District Vice President of Phi Theta Kappa's Iowa Region,
heard about Pages of Promise from one of her instructors. She contacted
one of the founders and soon her chapter was collecting books. Members not
only solicited donations from students, they also found other sources.
"Our chapter contacted the library, bookstore and a few other
offices in our school that have an enormous amount of books on hand. They
all told me that they usually end up throwing away the books that they don't
need and were more than happy to hold them and give them to our chapter," Magin
said. "We also let students know that if they couldn't get any money for their
books, they could donate the texts instead of throwing them away."
Soon
the entire Iowa Region was involved. Books were being collected all around
the state. The next hurdle was finding a way to transport the growing number
of books to St. Paul, Minnesota, where another organization, Books for
Africa, handles the overseas shipping. Book transportation has always
been a challenge for Pages of Promise, which has had to turn down donations
they had no way to collect.
Phi Theta Kappa solved that problem
too. President Denson, who knew about Phi Theta Kappa's book collection
project, learned that transportation was an issue, and volunteered a semi-truck,
with himself as driver.
Nancy Woods, Iowa Regional Coordinator,
contacted Phi Theta Kappa chapters in Minnesota, who sent also sent volunteers.
When the truck arrived in St. Paul, Minnesota representatives were waiting,
to help unload and sort books. Normandale Community College President
Dr. Kathi Hiyane-Brown also hosted a chili luncheon for all volunteers.
"The project is a wonderful example of service and collaboration, brought
together by a common mission shared by Phi Theta Kappans," she said.
Minn-Wi-Kota
Regional Coordinator Linda Tetzlaff added, "It was an inspiration to see
how the vision of one or two people can be multiplied through the great members
of Phi Theta Kappa."
"It's just something that is good for us
to do," President Denson said moments before he got behind the wheel.
His
partner in the semi, Society Executive Director Rod Risley, flew from Mississippi
to Iowa to make the trip.
"When I heard about this project I wondered
why it captured the imagination of the students and administration at both
community colleges and the university," Risley said. "I wanted to see firsthand
what it was all about," he added.
Like so many others who encounter
Pages of Promise, Risley is now a believer in what the organization is doing
to help African students achieve a college education.
"When
you consider that Books for Africa sends 1.8 million books a year to 27 different
countries where libraries are completely bare, the impact these individuals
are having is extraordinary."
Pages of Promise founder Kevin
Geiken is also a believer in Phi Theta Kappa.
"This year, because
of Phi Theta Kappa's involvement, Pages of Promise was able to collect a
record number of books from more campuses than ever before. I was blown away
by how well all of the chapters did in their inaugural book drives and was
impressed with the enthusiasm of everyone in the organization, from chapter
members on up to Mr. Risley. It is clear to me that Phi Theta Kappa members
are true philanthropists and global citizens. Pages of Promise looks forward
to working with this wonderful organization in the future to help end the
book famine in Africa."
