Two local PTAs collect books, cash for school

When two Las Vegas PTA's decided to get involved in the National Make A Difference weekend, their goal was to collect 1,000 books for the predominantly Hispanic John S. Park Elementary School.

To their amazement, the students at Louis Weiner Jr. and Charlotte Hill elementary schools amassed 4,200 books and more than $2,500 in cash.

Official presentation was to have been made at Park this morning at a 10 a.m. assembly.

"Last year we saw a Las Vegas elementary school do something for another school, and it received national recognition," said Dawn Neilson, with the Weiner PTA. "We thought, why can't we do something like that and hopefully inspired other schools to meet the challenge and make a difference."

Neilson said a Weiner parent, who has a video production company, is taping the fund raising event and will create a mini-documentary so that the students at Weiner and Hill can see what they have accomplished.

Linda Agreda, Park principal, said the books will give the 900 students at her school the opportunity to take one or more books home to bolster their reading skills.

Money raised during the drive will be used to buy bi-lingual reading and reference books for the library.

About 70 percent of the students at Park, 931 Franklin Ave., are Hispanic, and 50 percent are bilingual, noted Neilson.

Agreda said the school is very appreciative of the books and cash donations.

"It's very hard to generate funds from our neighborhood," she said.

Neilson said a goal of the project was to teach children about making a difference.

"We asked the parents to involved the kids in the volunteerism, to explain why we are doing it and to have them help select the books," she said.

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