PIRCTC’s SkillsUSA chapter
co-president
PRESQUE ISLE – Recently, the Presque Isle Regional Career and Technical Center’s (PIRCTC) chapter of SkillsUSA organized a children’s book drive for Aroostook County youth. We received well over 300 books and donated some to various places.
We donated 75 to Northern Maine Community College to hand out at the light parade Dec. 6, we donated 15 to the Early Childhood Program at PIRCTC, and over 300 to the Aroostook County Action Program Head Start, along with a bookcase that was handcrafted by the chapter’s co-president, Scott McCallum, in his Building Trades class at PIRCTC.
On Dec. 9, chapter officers visited ACAP Head Start to distribute children’s books to the center’s children.
“The book drive was a great way to start off our year. We’ve got a great leadership cabinet and we hope to get a lot accomplished in this community to show people what a great program SkillsUSA is,” said Desiree Higgins, chapter co-president, who organized the community service project. “We all had a lot of fun while delivering books, and I would like to thank ACAP, and in particular Debbie Kinney, for being so great and working with us when we were trying to get the books donated.”
Chapter officers agreed it was a worthwhile project.
“Seeing the children’s eyes light up as we handed them books was the best feeling in the world!” said Jessi Lunney, co-vice president.
“The experience I had while being with the children was very rewarding. I felt like Santa Claus because one child climbed on my lap while I read him a story,” said Jeremiah Sjoberg, historian. “I believe that community service is an important part of what I like about SkillsUSA.”
Treasurer Jon Shaw called the book drive an “awesome project.”
“Being read to as a child builds fundamental skills necessary to begin reading at an earlier stage of life,” he said.
Both groups of kids really enjoyed the experience. One of the children ran up to their teacher and exclaimed, “Guess what? Someone came and read to us today!”
For more information on SkillsUSA, please visit www.skillsusa.org!
Contributed photo
JESSI LUNNEY, co-vice president of the Presque Isle Regional Career and Technical Center’s chapter of SkillsUSA, gives a child at the ACAP Head Start a book that was collected through the chapter’s recent book drive. Chapter officers visited ACAP Head Start Dec. 9 to distribute the children’s books.
Contributed photo
JEREMIAH SJOBERG, historian for the Presque Isle Regional Career and Technical Center’s chapter of SkillsUSA, reads to a little boy at the ACAP Head Start Dec. 9. The local SkillsUSA chapter organized a children’s book drive for Aroostook County youth. More than 300 books were donated to the Aroostook County Action Program Head Start in Presque Isle.
