Saline Community Donates Over 1,000 Children's Books for Hurricane Harvey Victims; Help Still Needed with Shipping

What started as a Facebook post asking for children's book donations for Hurricane Harvey victims, quickly turned into an overwhelming outpouring of the Saline community’s support.  

Julie Soisson, formerly of Saline, teaches Kindergarten in Katy, Texas.  While her school suffered manageable damage, some of the other schools around her lost all their library books and teaching materials.  

Julie reached out to a family friend, Karen Viera, also of Saline, who posted the need on Facebook.  This was quickly picked up by Lynne Kochmanski, a volunteer at the Corner Book Shop at the Saline District Library.

"I can't think of a better place to host a book drive than the library," said Kochmanski, a retired middle school teacher.  

After receiving permission from the library director, Mary Ellen Mulcrone – and soliciting the help of fellow volunteers at the Corner Book Shop – a donation display was set up in the library’s lobby.  Over the course of three days, more than 50 bags and boxes of books and teaching materials were collected.

"The support of the Saline community has been overwhelming,” said Kochmanski.  “Now we need to get the books to Texas."

Kochmanski started with Bruce Temby of Saline’s UPS Store, who offered a 50% discount on packing materials. Temby then pointed Kochmanski to the USPS’s special media mail shipping rate, and an estimate of $500 for shipping was calculated.  

To raise funds for sending the books to Texas, a Go Fund Me site was created.  Those interested in helping with these costs can follow this link:

https://www.gofundme.com/hurricane-relief-book-drive

More News from Saline

• Summer Music: Dr. Pocket Plays Concert Downtown Dr. Pocket Brings its horns-fused music to downtown Saline Thursday as the Salty Sounds music series continues in downtown Saline.
• BankSupplies Inc. Buys Windsor Mold Building for $7.9 Million BankSupplies Inc has purchased a 105,418-sq-ft industrial building in Saine for its world headquarters.