By JENN BEARY
Christmas is only 14 days away. Now, I know that you've been meaning to get out there and do something nice for someone this holiday, but finals have just taken up too much time, right? Well, it's not too late. You can still help others this holiday season--by simply cleaning out your apartment.
Sound too good to be true? Operation GIVE is looking for all of your old notebooks, pencils and pens. And if you can't sell one of your books back at the bookstore, then why not donate that too?
Operation GIVE stands for Generating International Values for Education, and they are collecting school supplies and donating them to school districts in Eua, Tonga.
Dave Nabrotzky, the Operation GIVE Director, said there is a tremendous need for these supplies.
'For instance, a class of thirty students would be lucky to have three books to share between them. The average size of pencils are two to three inches, and a 1980 edition of encyclopedias is considered gold over there. We have the resources here in abundance and so now it is time to give of what we have to those who need it more,' Nabrotsky said.
Pete Uluave, the faculty coordinator of Operation GIVE, knows of these needs firsthand. He grew up on the island of Eua, and he went back last year and took some supplies to the schools. While he was visiting, he saw many things that were lacking in the school systems.
The latest edition of encyclopedias in some schools was 1965. He also saw libraries with less than 200 books in them. Uluave said that 'In Utah there are thousands of books they throw away each semester.' He said that students should donate those books to help others, instead of throwing them away.
Uluave said that we sometimes take for granted and even waste the things that we have been given. For example, when our pencils get to be about half the usual size, we will often just throw them out and get a new one. However, Uluave said that, 'Back in some of those islands they write with the pencils until they can hardly hold them.'
Uluave said that we can take of our surplus and help students in Tonga by donating school supplies and unused books for their libraries.
Operation GIVE will be collecting supplies from now until March. If you are interested in donating your unused school supplies to children in need, contact Dave Nabrotzky at 222-8732.