Sara Sandstrom, Nederland. Katie Volkmar has been the librarian at Nederland Elementary (NES) this last year. Like her predecessor, Randy Sachter, she wasted no time to find grants to bring more materials into the library for the students. 

The most recent grant Volkmar has obtained is from an organization called Donors Choose. Donors Choose is a crowdsourced education fundraising site that helps teachers create mini grant proposals. Sometimes corporate sponsors contribute with matching donations. Volkmar wrote a proposal to bring more diverse books into the NES library. 

She wrote, “Diverse books on our library shelves allow all children to see themselves reflected in the stories they read. Furthermore, by coming into contact with narratives containing cultural references different from their own, children grow in their empathy and understanding of the world.”

SONIC Drive-In was one of the matching corporate sponsors for this grant. 

Volkmar was also able to get grant funds for 28 STEM building kits and library organization bins with other corporate sponsors’ donations, also from Donors Choose.

In all, over $800 have been donated to the NES library and the money has been used to purchase books and materials. Books that bring more diversity to the collection and STEM materials. All with the purpose to benefit the students. 

The next time you go for a SuperSONIC Burger, onion rings and cherry slush know that you made a little contribution to a public school. One of those schools is Nederland Elementary. 

(Originally published in the June 3, 2021, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)