The Book Worm Brigade, a women’s book club in Los Banos, has taken on a new chapter in community involvement by collecting and distributing school supplies to 37 children in need. Led by club members Gloria Martinez and Bambi Norris, the initiative has seen an outpouring of support from local businesses and the community.
Gloria Martinez, the founder of the book club, explained how the initiative was born from a desire to make a difference.
“I wanted to be more involved in the community this year. Currently, I work at Breaking Barriers, which is an extension of probation. My boss was talking about how he had done a school supply drive in the past, but it’s too late to start one now.
“I was like, well, maybe too late for Breaking Barriers, but I think that would be a great idea to do on behalf of my book club. That’s what started the whole process,” Martinez said.
With the idea set in motion, Martinez turned to the club’s Facebook group to rally support. “I asked if there’s anyone that would be willing to help me with it, or if anyone had any suggestions on how to go about it,” she said. “That’s when I started communicating more with Bambi. We thought it would be a great idea to do it locally for students in need.”
Bambi Norris, a local realtor and fellow member of the Book Worm Brigade, stepped up to sponsor the drive. She financed the marketing and donated funds to kickstart the initiative.
Norris shared that the inspiration for the drive came from another club member who had experienced the hardships of starting school without adequate supplies as a child.
The club utilized social media and printed fliers to both collect donations and identify children in need. Originally, the plan was to donate the supplies directly to schools, but as contributions began to roll in, the scope of the project expanded.
“When the supplies started rolling in, we realized we had enough supplies to help all 37 students on our list,” said Norris, “and we still had tons of supplies. Anything that’s left over, we’re choosing a local elementary school where we’re going to drop off the remainder of all the supplies.”
The elementary school to receive the remaining donations, chosen by Martinez, is Mercy Springs Elementary.
The process of sorting and organizing the supplies was straightforward, but tasking. “Honestly, we just ordered pizza and sat on the living room floor,” Norris said regarding organizing the donations. The supplies were divided based on the grade levels of the children, ensuring that each backpack was filled with age-appropriate items. “We had one high-schooler. We tried to put everything in his backpack that he would need for his senior year.”
Despite the overall success, the drive did encounter some challenges. Martinez recounted a moment of doubt when a strategy borrowed from her high school days, distributing fliers in neighborhoods and asking residents to leave donations on their porches, yielded minimal results.
“We only had one or two houses donate out of 500 fliers,” Martinez said. “That was a challenge because I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what are we going to do?’ But luckily, community members reached out through our social media posts and donated a lot of the supplies.”
The efforts have not gone unnoticed. The book club has gained new members, and both Martinez and Norris are already planning to make this an annual event. “Gloria and I said, ‘We’re definitely doing this next year, and we’re doing it on a bigger scale.’” said Norris.
One of the most rewarding aspects of the project has been seeing the children’s reactions when receiving their new supplies. For parents who were unable to make it to the supply pick up on Sunday, backpacks were brought directly to their homes. “I’ve dropped off two to three backpacks so far,” Martinez said. “Just seeing the kids’ faces when they see their brand-new backpack, that was a big highlight. It’s so exciting to know that we did something good and it’s helping them.”
As for advice to others looking to start similar initiatives, Martinez emphasized the importance of community involvement and not being afraid to ask for help. “I was scared in the beginning, thinking I had to do it all myself. But sometimes you need to ask for help and put yourself out there,” she said.
The Book Worm Brigade’s initiative serves as an example of how a group of dedicated individuals can make a significant impact in their community. As the new school year begins, 37 children in Los Banos will head to class with the supplies they need, due to the efforts of this local book club.
For anyone interested in knowing more about The Bookworm Brigade go to their Facebook or Instagram pages: The Bookworm Brigade
