Books saved from recycling center and donated to schools

When Tami Chevalier of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Manchester heard that there were thousands of new books looking for a home, she knew exactly what to do. 

 "I thought I was picking up 1,000 books from a publisher who had contacted our Reach Out and Read program to make a donation," said Chevalier. "When I got there, they told me the warehouse was closing, and any books left would be sent to a recycling center." 

And so the donation from Flyleaf Publishing turned into about 5,000 books for first and second graders. Chevalier stored the books at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Manchester while she organized a way to distribute them to schools and youth groups across southern New Hampshire. It took two weeks to give all the books away, and ten Manchester elementary schools were the lucky recipients of Flyleaf's generosity: Beech Street, Green Acres, Hallsville, Highland-Goffe's Falls, McDonough, Northwest, Parker-Varney, Webster, Weston and Wilson. Manchester Boys & Girls Club also received some of the books. 

"I was happy to do it," said Chevalier. "These books have gone to wonderful schools and programs with energetic people who came and loaded, trucks, vans and even a small car that had to make two trips! Flyleaf Publishing gave us a wonderful gift."