December-Jan: Book Drive!

NCSEP, the North Carolina Science Education Program, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to offer educational resources to low-income students in North Carolina schools. Its vision is to work for fair and equal access to quality education for all individuals and to help them spark a pursuit of knowledge. The program began towards the end of 2020 and, yet it was able to end the year and begin 2021 on a wonderful note due to the multiple projects that took place. The book drive, the first project launched by NCSEP between December 7-20, 2020, was created to fulfill the mission of giving back to the community and providing individuals with the opportunity to support families in need. The drives were located at two different locations: Charlotte Country Day School and Brakemen’s Coffee Supply in Matthews, NC. Together, with the help of directors and many volunteers, NCSEP was able to surpass their expectation of collecting 250 books and instead was able to reach a goal of collecting over 360 books. Out of those books, 35 books were donated to Albemarle elementary school, 75 books were donated to Barringer Academic Center Elementary, and the rest have been given to multiple other schools. Aside from the book drive, the second project launched by NCSEP was a bingo fundraiser aimed to provide school supplies to underfunded schools. Over $100 was raised for necessary school supplies and was delivered to several schools. These projects were the start of our journey of fulfilling our mission of offering educational resources to low-income students in North Carolina. Our journey just started, and with the help of our directors and volunteers, we plan to continue developing methods of giving back to our community.