Despite some Williamstown students wishing summer would last forever, the time to prepare for a new school year is rapidly approaching.
To take the pressure off families, the local library is in the midst of collecting donated items for its third annual Monroe Community Back to School Supplies Drive. The district always has a need for pencils, pens, binders, folders, erasers, crayons, calculators, rulers, scissors and highlighters.
The drive began in 2022, after teen librarian Kyle Casser met with the school board and asked for ideas about events or fundraisers it could sponsor. All of the board members cited a need for school supplies, and with the help of teenage library volunteers, the first drive was held that year.
“It was a little difficult getting the word out, and we collected about 100 supplies. In 2023, we collected more than 1,000 items,” noted Casser, who is hoping for even more this year.
Residents and businesses are encouraged to bring items to the library at 713 Marsha Ave. – behind the Williamstown Farmer’s Market on the Black Horse Pike – now through Friday, Aug. 23. The library’s teen advisory board volunteers will sort out the items, and during the first week of September, parents and students can visit the library and pick out the supplies they need.
“The volunteers are a huge part of what I do,” explained Casser, who graduated from Northern Valley Demarest High School in North Jersey. “They like the library. They are good students and quite respectful. They earn volunteer hours that can be used for the National Honor Society or to put on their resumes.”
Casser earned her bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Delaware in 2012, and then worked at various jobs and did some traveling. During COVID, she decided to enroll virtually at the University of Indiana and earned a master’s in library science.
“It seemed like a good fit,” recalled Casser, who has been very busy with teen programs this summer, including a successful introduction to Dungeons and Dragons on July 22. “I’m a big reader and I have always utilized libraries.”
Casser met with the advisory board volunteers on July 24, organized the teen library Olympics on July 26 and hosted the ASL (American Sign Language) Club for Tweens and Teens with Niki Leary on Monday.
Other library programs Williamstown teenagers participated in this summer included the teen reading challenge, a creative writing workshop, a murder mystery game, a luau, a movie and craft night, a job interview and resume skills workshop with Trudi Clark, a teen writing contest and art lessons about painting and working with clay.
Two big events in August are a trip to the Rowan Planetarium on Monday, Aug. 19, at 2:30 p.m. and a Tween/Teen Taylor Swift Night on Tuesday, Aug. 20, at 6 p.m. in the library.
Casser said she receives input from the volunteers on the teen advisory board about what events to schedule, and greatly appreciates their help. For now, she and school board members are focused on collecting school supplies for youngsters in pre-K through 12th grades.
For information about the drive or programs for children, teenagers and adults at the library, go to www.monroetwplibrary.org.
