Dove Mountain Rotary Club building little libraries for MUSD

DOVE MOUNTAIN, Ariz. (KGUN) — A part of a literacy initiative ahead of summer break. The Dove Mountain Rotary Club is giving back to our local youth, one page at a time.

“Service above self is the motto of rotary and this is just very much who I am," said Prudy Abeln, President of Dove Mountain Rotary Club. 

The Dove Mountain Rotary just completed a collaborative project that will give students at Dove Mountain CSTEM school and the public, a year round outdoor library for free. The Rotary says that this year’s mission was to build and donate these little free libraries to schools all across Marana.

The third grade students at the Dove Mountain CSTEM school were able to help decorate the wooden library box with their favorite literature characters before school gets out for the summer. With over 1,000 outdoor mini libraries across the state of Arizona, the rotary wanted local students to have better access and opportunity to learn and grow through reading.

“Literacy is a huge focus for Rotary international. They believe it will lead towards peace if we educate people so we wanted to do something local," Prudy Abeln, President of Dove Mountain Rotary Club.

Abeln says her hope as a Rotarian and long time volunteer in our community is to help kids rediscover their love for reading in a world full of technology and screen time. The Rotary emphasizes to KGUN9 the need for more free literature, as they explain not everyone in the community has extra money to buy books.

The concept of the library is simple, take one book, leave one book, with no formal checkout process. On June 2, the Dove Mountain Rotary Club will be installing another little free library at Marana Leman Academy of Excellence Preschool. The Rotary hopes to continue this initiative throughout the year and into 2024.