Students in the University Scholars Program at Stony Brook University are focused on scholarship, leadership and service.

A project from the group that encompasses all three areas is the Long Island Book Drive which has one simple goal: get books into the hands of those who need them to be empowered and succeed.

Some of the books donated to the Wyandanch School District through the Long Island Book Drive program.

The University Scholars team collects books in any condition, any genre or reading level. Books in good enough condition to be donated find new homes with eager readers on Long Island and around the globe. Books that are damaged are properly recycled.

To increase the range for collecting and distributing books, the University Scholars team has partnered with four school districts on Long Island. There are hundreds of high school or middle school students, ages 10-18, working hard to collect books in their area.

The local school districts and their student organizers are at the heart of the initiative. At this student-run initiative, they develop their leadership and community involvement skills.

Thousands of books have been collected during the year. In May, the first donation of 2,235 books was made to the Wyandanch School District.

Book drives are also conducted on the Stony Brook University campus. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to donate unused literature to collection bins located throughout the campus.

31 Days of Giving Back 2015 Summary

The students, faculty and staff at Stony Brook University donate a considerable amount of their time, talent and resources to improve the lives of those around them at the holidays and all the year through. The examples here are just a small sampling of the community engagement going on from all points of the campus. Stony Brook is proud to be a caring community. We hope you enjoyed the glimpse in to some of the ways we show how much we care.

Questions or comments? Contact the Stony Brook University Office of Community Relations at (631) 632-9117 or email Joan.Dickinson@stonybrook.edu