Local couples team up for children’s book drive
February 4, 2010
By Tim Pfarr
Author enlists help of former Seahawk
Robin and Steven Ryan teamed up with former Seahawk Mack Strong and his wife Zoe Higheagle-Strong to produce a book drive benefiting American Indian children. The drive brought in 1,171 books. Contributed
Robin Ryan — a career counselor and author of seven books — and her husband Steven — a chiropractor — wanted to produce a charitable project.“Annually, we always do charitable drives and are involved heavily in the community,” Steven Ryan said.
He said they previously did work benefiting organizations such as Seattle Children’s.
In November, they did a book drive, and they sent e-mails to 25 friends and family members to find a beneficiary for the project.
The Ryans’ neighbors, former Seahawk Mack Strong and his wife Zoe Higheagle-Strong, responded and suggested the books be donated to American Indian children, as the dropout rate for Native Americans is about twice the national average.
Higheagle-Strong is a Nez Perce tribal member.
So, the couples moved forward together with the book drive, titled Help Mack Help Kids Read.
However, the book drive quickly encountered problems, and books were slow to come in. A book box at Steven’s clinic yielded no books, and schools and other groups, such as Girl Scout troops and charitable organizations, said they could not lend their support.
During this phase, the drive collected fewer than 60 books, and Robin and Steven Ryan donated 50 of those.
So, the Ryans took a more aggressive approach to the book drive, placing advertising in newspapers and sending more than 2,000 postcards to Steven Ryan’s patients. They also visited businesses and apartment buildings, handing out postcards, and mailed postcards to churches.
“I’m not one to be deterred,” Robin Ryan said.
Finally, the books started to arrive.
“Support came in the strangest ways,” Robin Ryan said, noting that some people would anonymously leave stacks of books on her doorstep. Steven Ryan’s patients also donated books.
“I was delighted to get our patients to respond,” he said.
The Ryans also said that while most people donated one or two books, the Fairwood Community United Methodist Church, with which the Ryans have no connection, donated about 400 books.
“I was thrilled and delighted that they saw the need,” Steven Ryan said.
When the drive concluded in December, 1,171 books had been collected, and the Ryans had donated 150 books themselves.
“We got fabulous books,” Robin Ryan said, adding that the books the drive brought in ranged from children’s books to young adult novels. The books were donated to several Washington Native American Tribes, including the Nez Perce.
Robin Ryan — whose latest book is “Over 40 & You’re Hired” — said the project was so important to her because of the great things reading can do.
“Reading opens up the world,” she said. “A good reader can become a good writer.”
She said the process of reading is also significant because it stimulates the reader’s imagination.
Comments
Got something to say?
Before you comment, please note:
- These comments are moderated.
- Comments should be relevant to the topic at hand and contribute to its discussion.
- Personal attacks and/or excessive profanity will not be tolerated and such comments will not be approved.
- This is not your personal chat room or forum, so please stay on topic.
