This week over 1200 books were collected at Holy Comforter Episcopal School in Tallahassee to be distributed around the state of Florida through the Supervised Visitation Program with is run through Florida State University.
The book drive, organized and run by students in the Beta Outreach Committee, was a month-long school-wide project, culminating in the delivery of books to Zachary Summerlin, who works at the Institute for Family Violence at FSU.
"We started the pilot project last fall, and everyone loved it!" Summerlin said. "These books have a huge impact on the children."
Supervised visitation programs provide a safe space for children to spend time with their parents in abuse, neglect, and other serious cases. There are non-profit supervised visitation programs in every judicial circuit in Florida. Their motto is protecting children, connecting families. The books go to the counselors who hand them to the children in their care.
"We're amazed by the generous donation from Holy Comforter students and families, who have been steadfast supporters of literacy," said co-founder Julianna Baggott. "And we feel strongly about delivering these books to the Supervised Visitation Program. The work that these professionals are doing with kids is inspiring."
