Surprise donation at Wilshire Park Elementary

| March 1, 2018 | 0 Comments

SURPRISE! The equivalent of a $10,000 gift card to Barnes & Noble was presented last month to Wilshire Park Elementary School principal LeighAnne Creary, center, by City National Bank’s Carolyn Rodriguez, right, while Barnes & Noble’s Natalie Dillard Brannon shared in the excitement.

There is nothing in the world like the sight, smell and feel of a brand new book. Now the children and educators at Wilshire Park Elementary, 4063 Ingraham St., can have the pleasure of enjoying 4,000 new books donated by City National Bank’s “Reading is the Way Up” program, plus $10,000 for additional books from Barnes & Noble. Thanks to a surprise donation last month. The monetary gift to the school was kept a secret until the morning of Feb. 23.

The bank’s program, which has donated more than 600,000 books to school libraries in California and other states, has also awarded $1.4 million to teachers at elementary, middle and high schools for creative literacy projects.

In surprising the school’s principal, LeighAnne Creary, with a big check at a parent’s gathering in the school’s auditorium, Carolyn Rodriguez, vice president and manager of the bank’s program, said, “City National takes great pride in our ‘Reading is the Way Up’ program. We are happy to help provide Wilshire Park Elementary the resources to build its library.”

In describing the challenges with unpacking the 4,000 books already received, Creary gave a shout-out to the “Larchmont Buzz” for publicizing the empty bookshelves in the school’s library last fall. That led to a holiday book drive, which ultimately caught the eye of City National Bank. And that all led to the book donation and the $10,000 surprise that allows the school to purchase even more books.

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Category: People

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