East Lansing, MI–Michigan State University (MSU) is raising funds and gathering books to donate to Flint Community Schools for its “Stuff the Library” project.
The project is part of MSU’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration which wraps up on Friday, Jan. 20, 2023, but organizers are asking donors to help them meet their goal of $15,000 and 1,000 books through Feb. 28.
In a press release, Jaimie Hutchinson, director of the MSU WorkLife Office and co-creator of the Stuff the Library project, said the goal is to fill Flint Community Schools’ libraries with books on topics of social justice and characters representing diverse backgrounds.
“Our goal is to raise awareness and promote books with a diverse representation of people and topics,” Hutchinson said. “We want to get books into the hands of children in the Flint Community Schools who are ages 0-18.”
Examples of possible books can be found on MSU’s Amazon Wishlist for the project. Interested donors can choose from over 140 books on the wish list or donate a book of their choice that fits the theme.
Donors are asked to drop off or mail their book donations to the MSU WorkLife Office at 479 West Circle Drive Linton Hall, Suite 116, East Lansing, MI 48824. MSU staff did not confirm whether books could also be dropped off locally in Flint prior to publication.
MSU is also accepting financial donations for the project through CrowdPointer.
This is the university’s third Stuff the Library donation drive. The first Stuff the Library event, held in 2021, raised $4,331 and 294 books for schools in Ingham County, and last year’s event raised $13,002 and 1,171 books for Detroit Public Schools.
“We are excited to be partnering with Flint Community Schools for this year’s event,” said Dan DiMaggio, Stuff the Library committee member and director of Student Engagement in the MSU Alumni Office. “Books are a powerful way for children to learn about other cultures and the world they live in and getting as many as possible into their hands that depict a diverse representation of peoples and topics is our number one goal.”
Stuff the Library donations will be accepted until Feb. 28.