Stava Holds Hugely Successful Book Drive, Collects Nearly 3,000 Books for Donation to Nonprofits

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. — State Rep. Anne Stava, D- Downers Grove, held a hugely successful Book Drive on Tuesday, ultimately collecting over 2,500 books for area nonprofits during what was to be a four-hour event, but which had to be shortened due to the unexpectedly enthusiastic response.

“When a community comes together to give the gift of learning and personal enrichment to their neighbors, it’s really special,” Stava said. “The response from our community has been amazing. We couldn’t have imagined such an outpouring of kindness and generosity.”

Stava and her staff organized the drive to benefit area nonprofits, some of which donate books to schools and local libraries, or sell them to fund charitable programs. The event was scheduled to be held at Stava’s constituent service office in Downers Grove from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, but had to be ended at 1 p.m.

By 10:15 a.m., at least 100 books had been donated. By 11 a.m., that number was 300. By noon, 700. By 12:30, over a thousand books had been dropped off. So many books were donated by 1 p.m. that the event had to end an hour early, and the door to the office could not be closed due to the volume of books.

“We asked our neighbors for books, and they responded. In fact, they stuffed our office literally to overflowing!” Stava said. “My staff and I were stepping over and between boxes of books to get around the office—which is a wonderful ‘problem’ to have. Thank you to the community for helping us help others.”