Last year, while the board of the Fresno Alumnae Chapter was brainstorming ideas of what to do for our Day of Service event, we discussed past events that we did with our local CASA and wanted to come up with something new.
Bailee Lyles, Gamma Chi/Fresno State, our chapter's membership communications coordinator, and I are both elementary school teachers, so we thought a book drive would be a good idea for CASA of Fresno and Madera Counties. We created an Amazon Wish List with books our own students enjoy, with the hopes that the list would make it convenient for alumnae. We also collected gently used books, as there is a large group of local alumnae who have worked/currently work in education. All donations were collected at the Gamma Chi Chapter facility.
The book drive was held for two weeks, with alumnae board members dropping off the donations to CASA of Fresno and Madera Counties. Because this was such a successful Day of Service event for us last year, we decided to make this an annual event! In 2024, we received well over 100 book donations. Many alumnae members commented how simple it was to go through the Amazon Wish List to find books, and to donate their own books, to a great organization.
The relationship between CASA and Theta has impacted our chapter members; we love to give back to our local community and to a cause that is so meaningful. Some Gamma Chi Chapter alumnae have even gone on to become CASAs after college because their Theta experiences inspired them to continue to give back. One common theme that members shared was that this donation drive reminded them of volunteering for CASA while being active members in Gamma Chi Chapter. The employees at CASA of Fresno and Madera Counties were truly humbled to see how many donations were collected when alumnae board members dropped the books off.
Our book drive served as a simple yet impactful way to give back to the children in our community!