Coe College recently issued the following announcement.
Whether Kohawks are in need of tutoring, research assistance, writing guidance, peer-to-peer support or even a pick-me-up from the coffee shop, Stewart Memorial Library is truly a vibrant hub for academic success. And now, it’s also a place for generosity as a student-led philanthropic project is in full swing.
After months of research and planning, over 200 textbooks required for the Fall Term are available to be checked out of the library on a two-hour loan period.
“I’m officially naming it the Blanchard Pettibone Textbook Project in honor of Sandy [Blanchard] and Cheri’s [Pettibone] determination to help launch the initiative,” said Student Body President Jack Rey ’22.
In addition to his role in Student Senate, Jack works the circulation desk in the library where he saw the need for student access to textbooks. The idea to request funds from the Student Senate to purchase textbooks for students to check out had been in Jack’s mind for quite some time. As the head of the circulation department, Sandy was the first person Jack confided his idea to last spring.
“She was very open-minded and ran with it. She thought it was very cool and mentioned it was an amazing project that she would do everything possible to make happen,” Jack said.
Cheri quickly jumped on board as well to help as the library acquisitions assistant. This encouraged Jack to share his concerns with Student Body Vice President Parker Laney. Together, they thoroughly researched campuswide textbook requirements for the fall and wrote a proposal to allocate $23,000 of the Student Senate budget toward purchasing textbooks for the 2021-2022 academic year. The proposal was approved by the Student Senate, while Sandy and Cheri hurried to purchase and add the textbooks to the library system over the summer.
The Blanchard Pettibone Textbook Project was a collaboration that included the generosity of alumni and faculty members. Jack and Parker reached out to recent graduates and received a donation of 70 textbooks. Meanwhile, an email to Coe faculty asking for donations of spare required textbooks received an overwhelming, positive response.
“I think it's amazing. This is something Coe needed. It helps students and professors, and although there were logistical challenges, it was nice to do something that Coe ran with and have staff members be willing to do something for the betterment of the college and students. It’s great to be here,” he said. “Parker and I have a slogan about paying it forward. This is an exceptional example of what working together and putting in the hours can do for others.”
This isn’t a one-time project, either. The Blanchard Pettibone Textbook Project received so much positive feedback, Jack is certain future Kohawks will lead the initiative for years to come. In the meantime, Sandy and Cheri are adding the Spring Term textbooks to the library collection.
Original source can be found here.
Source: Coe College
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