TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

The Drive To Keep Reading Alive

ADVERTISEMENT

By JESSICA BALANZA, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 3, 2007

CARROLLWOOD - The Tampa Kappa Delta Sorority Alumnae Association hopes to use this year's book drive to keep alive the memory of a sorority sister and to help children enhance their reading skills.

The Myla Messick Stevens Memorial Book Drive is scheduled for Saturday at the Carrollwood Recreation Center, 3515McFarland Ave. The book drive started shortly after Myla Messick died in 2005 of pancreatic cancer.

Deborah Morina, a Carrollwood resident and an alumnae association member, said Messick was a philanthropist who began a program at Sulphur Springs Elementary School known as Parents and Children Advance Together, or PCAT. Messick, with the help of Christene Worley, began the program in 2003 to help children in first and second grade.

Morina and Messick attended the University of South Florida and were sorority sisters.

After college, they stayed in contact, attending each other's weddings and starting a family. While Morina participated in the alumnae association, Messick went on to start the PCAT program.

PCAT, an after-school literacy program, is one of three programs under the University Community Ministries umbrella. It started at the elementary school's cafeteria with 15 students and now is held at the Covenant Chapel Ministries, 8518 N. 11 St., with more than 70 children participating last year.

Through the program, children partake in three stations, each lasting about 50 minutes: computer lab, life enrichment and one-on-one reading with a tutor. Children qualify for the program based on testing administered at the beginning of the school year.

'These children are not disabled or anything, they just need that extra pat on the back,' Worley said.

Worley added that most students increase from five to 18 reading levels by the end of the school year. The average is about 11. She attributes the improvement to tutoring.

'I will not compromise that I want one-on-one tutoring,' Worley said. 'The more volunteers we have, the more students we can accept in the program.'

'We wanted to keep her goal and mission alive,' Morina said. 'These children don't have books, so we decided to start the book drive to help give them books.'

The book drive started in 2005 as an effort between the alumnae association and the Girl Scouts. Morina held the first book drive in Temple Terrace but this year decided to move it closer to her neighborhood.

'It's very humbling to be a part of a grass-roots effort and see it grow,' Morina said. 'And also keep Myla's memory alive.'

Books are donated to the Kappa Delta Memorial Library at Covenant Chapel Ministries. PCAT also hosts a Family Night three times a year, and students and their siblings are given a book of their choice.

'One of the saddest things I have found is a child that goes to bed without being read to or not being able to get lost in a book,' Morina said.

Since the book drive started, four Girl Scout troops in Temple Terrace have volunteered and collected about 1,400 books, Morina said. Scouts who volunteer also work on crafts with the alumnae and with members of Delta Eta, a chapter of Kappa Delta at University of South Florida. By the end of the day, the girls earn a Kappa Delta Loves Girl Scouts badge.

This year, 10 Girl Scout troops are participating, totaling about 90 girls. Morina encourages the public to drop off books from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Besides the book drive, the alumnae association has requested money for the program the last two years through the National Kappa Delta KiDs Grant. Kappa Delta has awarded $5,000 to the program and will request one more grant for PCAT.

Morina said the money has helped to buy early reading material such as workbooks for tutoring.

HOW TO HELP

WHAT: Book donations

WHERE: Carrollwood Recreation Center, 3515McFarland Ave.

WHEN: 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday

CALL: (813) 961-5217

BECOME A TUTOR

CALL: (813) 949-0109

Jessica Balanza can be reached at (813) 865-1518 or at jbalanza @tampatrib.com.

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT