Students of Deptford High’s Spartan Spirit newspaper wrapped books that were going to Nemours Children’s Health during the week of Dec. 1.
Deptford High School’s Spartan Spirit journalism club held its annual holiday book drive from Nov. 10 to Dec. 1, when students at the school’s newspaper collected more than 300 books for local recipients.
According to the school district, the club collected 237 titles for Nemours Children’s Health in Deptford and an additional 87 for the township library. All books were donated to the club by members of the community; the students wrapped each one for the holiday.
The drive has been going on at the high school since 2007, according to club advisor Rachel Coombe. This year’s event was the fourth year the club held the book drive for Nemours.
“It began as a community service project for our school newspaper club, and we donated books to the children at Martin Luther King day care center in Camden,” said Coombe. “I volunteered there while a student at Rutgers University and saw the need for resources, especially reading materials. That drive helped for about 12 years or so, and then the day-care center in Camden closed and relocated. Soon after that, COVID hit.”
Once the worst of the pandemic passed, Coombe searched for a new school or program that could benefit from a book drive. She eventually found Nemours, where a doctor there helped treat her daughter, Aubrey, for tachycardia, the medical term for a heart rate over 100 beats a minute.
“After multiple visits to the doctors and the ER, we finally found a doctor at Nemours in Delaware who identified and treated her for tachycardia,” Coombe recounted. “In the summer of 2022, Aubrey had a heart ablation and spent some time in the hospital.
“During her brief stay, we met some families that had children with severe heart issues, and some spent weeks and months in the hospital,” she added. “I decided the patients and families would benefit, and maybe these books can give them an escape or a way to pass the time during their hospital stays and their recovery at home.”
The books will be presented to the children as part of Nemours’s Christmas party. The partnership with the children’s health group has been a success.
“The drive has been well received by Nemours and we have donated hundreds, if not thousands, of books to the Deptford location over the past few years,” Coombe pointed out. “The hospital is so grateful for our generous donation, but we couldn’t have done it without the compassion and assistance of our students, faculty, and community at Deptford High School.”
