By Justin Bailey
More than 200 children’s books and several monetary donations were collected by Bush School students last week and donated to Bryan’s Henderson Elementary School. Organized by the Bush School Ambassador’s Council, the project came about as students were forced to re-think what service would look like in the midst of a pandemic.
“As our Executive Team began to discuss what this crazy semester would look like for the Bush School Ambassadors, we had to revisit our mission and brainstorm how we could shift priorities to represent the legacy of President and Mrs. Bush,” student ambassador Rachael McBride said. “Simple acts of service seemed like a perfect avenue.”
“By collecting these books, the Ambassadors Council hopes to carry out this legacy by providing the opportunity for kids to fall in love with reading, as Barbara Bush hoped every child would.”
Bush School student ambassador Rachael McBride
Dozens of students took turns sitting, with appropriate social distancing, around collection bins as students, faculty, and staff dropped off books and monetary donations for the project.
“We decided an elementary school would be the best option as the recipient for the books we collected,” McBride said, “and Henderson in particular was very receptive to connecting with the legacy of former First Lady Barbara Bush in this way.”
The former First Lady made literacy an important part of her personal mission throughout her life, founding the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy in 1989 and advocating for the National Literacy Act of 1991.
“By collecting these books, the Ambassadors Council hopes to carry out this legacy by providing the opportunity for kids to fall in love with reading, as Barbara Bush hoped every child would,” McBride added.
The Bush School is founded upon the idea that public service is a noble calling, and Bush School students work hard to make that a reality in both their academic and professional lives.
“The pulse of the Bush School truly is public service, evident in both big and small ways,” McBride said. “Students pull together at a moment’s notice to be a part of simple acts of service that contribute to something outside of themselves—like this literacy event. But even more impactful is the fact that our faculty, staff, and student body are composed of individuals who deeply desire to dedicate their life to selfless service of others.”
