The Gift of Literature: Hearth Shelter Charity Drive

Are you interested in doing charity work but don’t have the time to volunteer or the money to donate? If so, Phi Eta Sigma and the Student Pennsylvania State Education Association may have just the thing for you, as they have organized a children’s book drive. 

The drive is specifically targeted towards donating books to the Hearth Shelter in Pittsburgh. All books are welcome for the drive, but Phi Eta Sigma and the SPSEA are mainly looking for books with themes of societal inclusion and diversity.

“These books are so extremely important for children so they can see themselves through literature. Unfortunately, not all students are given the chance to have books that represent them, hopefully this book drive can provide that opportunity for the students,” said SPSEA secretary Erika Christeleit.

So far, the results of the book drive have been overwhelmingly successful. The SPSEA confirmed that more books than previously expected have been dropped off at both donation sites on campus — those being Jane Hoch’s office in Cassell Hall and the front desk at Chambers Hall. The organization will be finished collecting books for the drive by the end of Feb. 28, so donate soon if you are thinking about it. 

Christeleit partnered with Phi Eta Sigma vice president Rachel O’Neill to create the drive. “The idea for the book drive came from Rachel. She reached out to me about an event that could use books and we decided on the Hearth Shelter,” Christeleit said. 

Despite having been credited with coming up with the idea for the book drive, O’Neill discussed Phi Eta Sigma’s role in the drive.

“For the book drive, all that Phi Eta Sigma is doing is monitoring the books and promoting it. It is SPSEA’s event and they are the ones who wanted books and will be going to the shelter to read and donate them,” O’Neill said. 

If you miss the opportunity to participate in the book drive, the SPSEA and Phi Eta Sigma will be holding many more events this semester. Of course, Phi Eta Sigma is having the Campus Beautification activity day on campus towards the end of the semester, and the SPSEA holds multiple events on and off the Pitt-Greensburg campus. 

“Since we are pre-service teachers, we try to be as involved with local school districts and students as possible. We also hold professional development workshops. These workshops all have different topics but serve as great professional development opportunities for students in our chapter,” Christeleit said. 

The biggest off-campus event for the SPSEA is their statewide conference.

“We will travel to Lancaster for the conference, there will be a lot of professional development sessions and an Outreach to Teach. During the Outreach to Teach we beautified a school in Lancaster. It is so rewarding to be able to give back to the community, our members love the Outreach to Teach event and the state conference,” Christeleit said. 

If you would like to contact Erika Christeleit, you can message her at elc146@pitt.edu. You can reach out to Rachel O’Neill at rao28@pitt.edu.