‘Operation’ brings 8,000 books to school

SIXTH GRADERS at Talbot Innovation Middle School in Fall River, Mass., hold books they received as part of a large book donation made by Ocean State Job Lot Charitable Foundation and Book Enterprises LLC. / COURTESY NEWBERRY PUBLIC RELATIONS & MARKETING
SIXTH GRADERS at Talbot Innovation Middle School in Fall River, Mass., hold books they received as part of a large book donation made by Ocean State Job Lot Charitable Foundation and Book Enterprises LLC. / COURTESY NEWBERRY PUBLIC RELATIONS & MARKETING

FALL RIVER – An initiative dubbed “Operation: Book Drop” delivered 8,223 books to the Talbot Innovation Middle School on May 22.
The Talbot donation is the third delivery to a Fall River School, and is among several donations that make up total contribution of $2 million. It is the largest donation of its kind to the Fall River School Department in the city’s history.
The Ocean State Job Lot Charitable Foundation is spearheading the effort, along with local wholesale book dealer Book Enterprises, LLC and former Fall River City Councilor David Dennis. The idea is to get 100,000 books into the hands of Fall River school students.
Five city schools were selected by the School Department to receive books. Doran Elementary School and Kuss Middle School received deliveries in 2013. Morton Middle School is scheduled for delivery in late June. Stone County Therapeutic Day Middle School’s delivery has not yet been scheduled.
Ocean State Job Lot, a North Kingstown-based discount regional retailer with 112 stores in six New England states and New York, purchased the books from Book Enterprises, LLC, which is operated by Rochester, Mass. resident Jason Zutaut. Job Lot’s Charitable Foundation covers the cost of the books, warehousing and shipping.
Intended for use by teachers, these library-bound editions are unavailable to the general public and are meant to withstand use and handling in the classrooms and the library over time.
Zutaut and Dennis conceived this initiative during a conversation they had at a 2013 school vacation reading event, held at Book Enterprises’ retail store.
“Jason and I identified this important need of public schools in Fall River, and he offered up the books to fill that need, working with Job Lot’s charitable organization to help make it happen,” recalls Mr. Dennis, who is an attorney in private practice in Fall River. “This represents the best of a public/private partnership that started between two civic-minded people on a handshake.”
Neither parents nor the school system have the discretionary dollars to purchase books such as the ones that are being donated, Dennis added.
“Despite all of the technology that is out there, books still play a big role in education,” he said.

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