Children at OSUIT’s daycare center recently received new books filled with humor, adventure, characters, places and love thanks to donations collected by students and faculty of the Arts and Sciences Division.

More than 100 books and workbooks for the children to enjoy plus day care products were collected during the 2012 fall semester and 2013 spring semester service learning projects.

Service learning projects are key educational components of the institute’s required College Strategies course. These courses are designed for freshman and emphasize the consideration of academic, social, vocational and other basic concerns common to first-year college students. College Strategies instructor Angie Asmussen explained,

“Donating items, such as children’s books, gives students the opportunity to take pride in giving back to the community.”

College Strategies courses will continue to collect books for the Daycare Center through the 2013 summer semester. Daycare director Glenda Harris expressed her gratitude to the students by stating,

“Books have the power to benefit toddlers and preschoolers in a myriad of ways and we appreciate student participation to help us provide our young children a foundation for learning to read and later write on.”