Plymouth-Canton Community Schools issued the following announcement.
Cathy Lopez loved kids.
She loved them when she served as a paraprofessional at Hoben Elementary working with special needs students. She loved them when she worked to support their educational
experience as an administrative assistant in the P-CCS Special Education department. Above all, Lopez loved her own daughters.
Now, thanks to the generosity of family, friends and the community she served, hundreds of P-CCS students will have a more diverse and inclusive experience at district media
centers and libraries in her memory.
What began as a GoFundMe page designed to donate a few books to media centers at Hoben and other elementary schools turned into a project that raised over $6,300 which will
distribute close to 800 books district-wide. The donated books are a fitting tribute to Lopez, who passed away suddenly on October 22nd.
All of the books purchased as part of the initiative tell the stories of characters with disabilities in a nod to Lopez's work with the P-CCS Special Education community. The project
was coordinated by Hoben Library-Media Specialist Diana Olds, who said it was important to make sure that students across the district got the chance to experience books with
characters who live with -- and overcome -- disabilities in their lives.
The amount of money raised for the project -- more than double Olds' original goal -- allowed her to purchase books for every library, media center, and preschool program in the
district to allow students at all grade levels the chance to expand their learning horizons.
The first shipment of books has arrived at Hoben's media center where staff members will add a label memorializing Lopez before they're sent to other P-CCS libraries. Additional
shipments from Barnes & Noble, who worked with Olds to discount the cost of the books, are on their way from warehouses around the country.
In lieu of any additional donations to the book project, gifts in Lopez' memory can be sent to the Building Bridges Therapy Center.
Original source can be found here.
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