Summer Reading for all is accepting donations until May 22, and students can reap the rewards of their charity on May 29 and 30. For every two books donated, students can pick up one at the book swap. At the book swap, all the donated books will be laid out and students with a special ticket saying they’ve donated will be able to peruse the stacks and take home half as many books as they donated.

“I am very excited about the book swap, I can’t wait to see all the books people donated,” sophomore Faith Cox, who donated two books, said. “Plus it’s like shopping, but free. And who doesn’t like free books?”

Summer Reading for All began was started last year by english teachers Cheryl Collins and Lauren Madrid with the goal of encouraging reading in the summer and to build school libraries. The books left over after the swap will be taken to the middle and elementary schools that feed into CPHS and any that are too worn for the library will go on teachers classroom book shelves.

“Children who read during the summer gain reading skills, while those who do not often slide backward,” Madrid said. “This program is the main service project for NEHS and our hopes are that every student goes home with at least one book to read over the summer.”

Though the program was originally run by teachers, this year the National English Honor Society took over the book drive.

“NEHS took over this year because it just seemed like a natural thing for us to do,” english teacher Chriss Hexter said. “The kids can get hours and we can help the community in a way that relates to our society.”

Donating books to the Summer Reading for All program can be counted as community service. Students like Cox wanted to help support the community around them by donating books.

“I donated because I wanted to help my community and give new reading material to those who don’t have any,” Cox said. “I love reading and I think every child should be able to have access to reading material as a nice escape from everyday life.”