Book donations needed for EKY schools damaged by flooding

KNOTT COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - The Kentucky Educational Development Corporation continues to help with flood relief efforts. They’re now focusing their attention on books.

They’re collecting books for Knott County school libraries that were damaged in the floods.

It all started with a book that Dean Jones, a 25-year veteran Knox County teacher, read about helping bring books to Appalachia. She said after seeing the floods she wanted to help, as the people in the book did, and that’s when an idea blossomed into an initiative.

“The thought of kids going into classrooms, with libraries with no books makes me sad,” Jones said.

Dean then reached out to Charge and KEDC about what she read in The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek and how in the book they helped Knott County and, with all the misfortune Knott County has experienced, she wanted to step up and help.

“The ball just got rolling and the next thing I knew, we now have three book donation drop-off sites,” Jones said.

Jones mentioned how excited she was as a young teacher to create her classroom book collection.

“If a book could bring just a little bit of happiness, and maybe take their minds off of all the tragedy they have been through, that would be worth it all,” Jones said. “If a book could bring just a little bit of happiness and maybe take their minds off of all the tragedy they have been through that would be worth it all.”

You can drop off donations at the KEDC Lexington branch from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. There are also two more drop-off locations in Ashland and Barbourville.

Here’s a link to the initiative’s Amazon wishlist.

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