About Brookhaven reporter. (Sandy Springs, GA) 20??-current | View Entire Issue (June 14, 2013)
MAKING A DIFFERENCE Do you experience: cognitive fog, heat intolerance, blurred vision, incontinence or numbness? MELISSSA WEINMAN Ray Redmond, left, and Jim Saunders collected used children’s books for Woodward Elementary students by combing Goodwill and other thrift shops, and by checking with book-trading websites. Hillsdale residents donate 400 books to Brookhaven school BY MELISSA WEINMAN melissaweinman@reporternwspapers.net Each of Woodward Elementa ry School’s students was able to leave school for the year with a book to take home and read over the summer, largely due to the efforts of two men from the nearby Hillsdale neighborhood. Kristin Gokce said when she asked her neighbors for help collecting used books for the school, Jim Saunders and Ray Redmond took the call seriously. Over the course of several months, the two would bring boxes of books for Gokce to deliver to the school, eventual ly donating more than 400 books. “They were like the little guardian an gels. It was incredible,” Gokce said. Saunders used credits he had built up from an online paperback book-trading club to get about 300 children’s books. He would keep an eye out for children’s books on a book-trading website, espe cially books about Disney characters, animals or history, he said. “It takes a while to get these books in because they’re mailed from all over the country. When they do have them, they will send them out. I’ll be getting, 30, 40 books a week,” Saunders said. Then, Saunders and Redmond went shopping to find even more used books. “Ray and I went out to Goodwill and St. Vincent de Paul and other thrift shops and got another 100 books,” Saunders said. Saunders said he wanted to help when he learned that many of the chil dren at the school didn’t have books to read at home. “We wanted to feel useful and that’s the way we could do this since there was a need,” Saunders said. Gokce, a Woodward parent who vol unteers at the school, said many of the stu dents at the school come from Spanish speaking families. For them, learning to read can be especially challenging because English is not their first language. Another obstacle for some of the stu dents is they don’t have access to books to read at home, Gokce said. “A lot of them don’t have the oppor tunity to have someone read to them. A lot of them miss out on that,” Gokce said. “They’re facing many barriers just to get out of the gate.” Saunders and Redmond said they’ve enjoyed collecting books for the school, which is only a few blocks from the neighborhood they’ve called home for more than 20 years. “It was a lot of fun for us and kept us busy,” Saunders said. “It was a fun, lit tle project.” And they said they plan to keep col lecting books next school year. “We may inquire over there at Cross Keys High School,” Saunders said. “They are in need of books, too. We could probably get a number of books for teenagers.” Do you know an organization or individual making a difference in our community? Email editor@reporternewspapers.net New research indicates a possible link between poor venous circulation and progression of many neurological disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis, Chronic Lyme, Chronic Fatigue & many more. CCSVI Atlanta is the only certified diagnostic ultrasound provider in the Southeast evaluating for chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency. CCSVIATLANTA Scanning for Health Call 404-941-2000 for an Evaluation 455 EAST PACES FERRY ROAD, ATLANTA, GA ■ ccsvi-atlanta.org Among the fascinating people who live and work at Canterbury Court: The best part about our life here is OUR WONDERFUL FRIENDS.,, The Scovils chose Canterbury for reasons you might expect - great location, maintenance-free living, intriguing things to do with time to actually do them, the promise of future health care. What they didn’t know then was how wide their already generous circle would grow to embrace wonderful new friends. Or, how much fun it would be to share experiences with people they enjoy. The Scovils invite you to discover their Canterbury Court. 0% Canterbury Court Life is better among friends 3750 Peachtree Road, N.E. - Atlanta, Georgia 30319 - (404) 261-6611 canterburycourt.org Atlanta’s premier non-profit continuing care retirement community View our Digital Editions on your smartphone or tablet ReporterNewspapers.net www.ReporterNewspapers.netl JUNE 14 —JUNE27, 2013 | 13
