Shari Gullo and Diane Myers may not be from West Virginia or even live in the state, but they have a passion for helping the people of Appalachia.
The Lake Zurich, Illinois residents have collected more than 8,000 books so far for the people of Big Ugly, and the only problem they face now is how to get them there. They are seeking someone in the Charleston area who may be able to help.
Gullo found the need in the Big Ugly community after a friend of hers, who promised to donate leftover books from her old bookstore, backed out of helping an organization, Step by Step, which is currently serving the area.
Step by Step is an organization dedicated to serving children in economically-challenged communities throughout the southern coalfields of West Virginia. According to their website, the organization focuses on youth and family growth in the areas of education, mutual support, service and leadership.
When Step by Step expressed the need for books in Big Ugly, Gullo reflected on her childhood growing up in a small town in Wisconsin. She recalled the small library in the village hall of her town and said it was so small that the librarian knew her library card number by heart.
Gullo remembers the frustration she experienced when she would finish the current book genre she was reading. She says there were never enough books to read due to the small selection.
"I couldn't imagine being 40 miles from a library without any books," said Gullo. "If even one kid goes to college because I did this, that will make me happy."
Gullo began the book drive by posting a status on Facebook, then by putting boxes in businesses in her area. Eventually, Myers found out about the book drive through a friend and wanted to help.
Now, their garages are full of books and they are expecting more.
"We have a very immediate need to getting books out to the program," said Michael Tierney, executive director and founder of Step by Step. "[The books] would start at Big Ugly and then would get divvied up to several summer camp enrichment programs."
The books Step by Step receives go to families to start their own home libraries, to summer camps, after-school programs, and seniors in nursing homes depending on the needs of the people receiving them.
"Volunteers will interview the families and tailor the needs of the child to a book," Tierney said when explaining the process. "A lot of the other books that come in will be tailored out for parents to take, like self-help or pop fiction."
Gullo says she's written to every state representative in West Virginia, including Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, but she lacks the funds to make it happen.
Recently, a company agreed to give her a low-rate to ship the more than 7,000 pounds of books. She's found pallets but would also need help to supply the shrink wrap. She expects the total cost to add up to about $1,000.
Step by Step values the books at $3-5 a piece with the expectation that it would cost about that much to buy them if they were not donated.
Gullo is currently seeking someone in the Charleston area who could possibly help or knows of resources which may be available.
She can be reached at (847) 748-9155 or pizzabones@msn.com.
Tierney encourages anyone who may be interested in starting their own book drive or donating books to contact him at mte@stepybystepwv.org.
Reach Jennifer Gardner at
jennifer.gardner@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5102 or follow
@jennc_gardner on Twitter.