In an effort to promote early literacy among children in the community, seniors Megan York and Olivia Cain have been collecting and organizing books at Clear Creek Elementary for a program called “1000 Books Before Kindergarten.”

“The goal of this program is to have children younger than kindergarten to read 1000 books before attending school,” York said.

Cain and York decided to do this project because they are in Sociology of Community Service. For their final project, they select or develop a program that will benefit the community.

“I like this program because I think it will leave a lasting impression,” Cain said.

Cain and York have been working on this project since October. They spend about four to six hours per week on “1000 Books Before Kindergarten.”

“This is a really good cause and the kids will really benefit,” York said.

Sponsored usually by libraries and schools across the nation, “1000 Books Before Kindergarten” is a program intended for all members of the community. Cain and York estimate that they have sorted though about 2000 books since beginning this project. They discard books that are damaged.

“My favorite part about this project is being able to read the books,” York said. “Some of them are really funny.”

Cain and York reach out to the community for book donations.

“Last week we sent out a mass email to people in the district,” York said. “We have over 300 books just from that.”

Cain hopes this program will still continue after they graduate.

“It’s a lot of time and effort we’ve put into this,” Cain said. “We hopes it sticks around.”