Gilpin Student with Book
Friday, February 8th, DPS’s Gilpin Montessori Public School celebrated the extraordinary generosity of Barnes & Noble customers when representatives from the downtown Barnes & Noble store visited Gilpin and donated more than 1,200 new books as well as two Nook e-readers to the school. The books had been purchased for Gilpin students by charitable Barnes & Noble customers throughout the holiday season. The donation is valued at more than $10,000 and includes many hard-cover classics, Spanish language titles, non-fiction books as well as favorite series.
Barnes & Noble Books
“We are floored and thrilled by this donation,” said Gilpin Principal Frank Vincent, “as well as grateful for Barnes & Noble’s commitment to literacy in Denver’s public schools. These books will serve our students for years to come.” The books, many of which were specifically suggested by Gilpin teachers, will help build classroom libraries. A donation of this size will mean about 85 books for each of Gilpin’s 14 classrooms.
Barnes & Noble’s Matt Fisher says customers were eager to donate to the school, and some – namely neighborhood residents and even some school alumni – even upped the amount they donated when they learned the beneficiary was Gilpin. The store is about a mile from the school. “We and our customers really enjoy giving back to the community and sharing the joy of reading,” Fisher said. The book donation celebration included a special read-in at the school with two of Gilpin’s pre-school classes. Students were invited to select a book from the overflowing tables of newly donated materials and representatives from Barnes & Noble and Denver Public Schools read aloud with students. The students were delighted to have so many books from which to choose including old favorites as well as new titles to explore.
Joe Yurkovic and student
The Barnes & Noble partnership, among dozens of other business-school collaborations, are facilitated by the School Partners Program, an initiative of the DPS Foundation, which strives to cultivate, nurture and sustain meaningful relationships between DPS schools and the Denver community. Learn more about the School Partners Program – including information on how to become a School Partner and a list of existing Partners by visiting https://dpsfoundation.org/programs_partners.php.
Pictured from left: Jenny Fisher, Barnes & Noble Community Relations Manager; Nicole Brown, School Partners Program Manager, Denver Public Schools Foundation; Jessica Chapman, Communications Specialist, Gilpin Montessori; Tim Reynard, Barnes & Noble; Joe Yurkovic, Barnes & Noble Store Manager; Matt Fisher with Barnes & Noble; Frank Vincent, Principal of Gilpin Montessori; David Sanger, DPS Director of Library Services; and students from Gilpin Montessori.