Stories for Students
COLLEGEVILLE, Penn. — Karlyn Gorski of Perkiomen Valley High School recently started a community service project called “Stories for Students.” This program collects used books intended for elementary-aged students, and redistributes the books to elementary classrooms. Used books in good condition can be donated in two ways: either by shipping them directly to her, or by bringing them to the tournaments held at Yale, Bronx Science, UPenn, Hendrick Hudson, Princeton, or Lexington. More information follows.
“I decided to start this project because I think it is a really easy way for people to help out their community, while at the same time getting rid of clutter,” Gorski said. “Reading during my elementary years let me explore new worlds. It also immensely helped my writing and vocabulary skills; something which is very useful in everyday life. I would like for more children to have greater access to books, as I think it will help their overall education.”
The program will donate grade-level appropriate books to each classroom in all of the elementary schools in the Perkiomen Valley School District.
“Debaters tend to be the type of students who enjoy reading,” commented Gorski, “and I’ve found that many families have old books collecting dust in their house. Since debaters are now well beyond their elementary years, they have no use for their old books. Stories for Students is a great way for these high schoolers to better the community while creating more space in their homes.”
Questions can be directed to Gorski by e-mail.
Popularity: 5%
test
55 Responses to “Stories for Students”
Leave a Reply
Most Popular Posts
- Breaking News: Sept/Oct LD Resolution Released
- GOP Ticket: McCain | Palin
- Topic Released Tomorrow
- Where Will You Compete?
- Aaron Timmons Announces Greenhill Round Robin
- Jon Cruz Announces Vassar Round Robin Field
- Register for Big Bronx!
- Five Potential Policy Debate Topics for 2009-2010
- VBI@LMU Concludes
- Stories for Students
Posted from: 69.121.162.215
August 2nd, 2008 19:42
this is a really great idea.
good job karlyn.
Posted from: 76.94.89.102
August 4th, 2008 08:55
Congratulations, KG. Excellent work.
Posted from: 12.144.58.212
August 4th, 2008 09:51
Something in my brain just popped.
Posted from: 75.73.219.151
August 5th, 2008 23:38
“I decided to start this project because I think it is a really easy way for people to help out their community, while at the same time getting rid of clutter,” Gorski said.
Read: “It looks good on college apps, yo.”
Posted from: 76.94.89.102
August 6th, 2008 00:45
Read: Jordan G is so awesome.
Posted from: 128.12.130.189
August 6th, 2008 06:48
I think you mean,
Read: Sadly it seems Jordan G will never change.
Posted from: 24.151.41.11
August 6th, 2008 07:10
Honestly I think Jordon G does have a point. Not to slight KG’s organization (she clearly is dedicated enough to make it mainstream). The fact that their are about 4-5 similar organizations at my school alone makes me dubious of any altruistic intentions. I mean seriously, what are admissions officers going to say when they read an appilaction that claims $50,000 donated to poor third world kids.I’m certainly in the boat of people who have turned away from ostensible philanthropy because I’m unsure of what the organization actually represents.
While Jordan G may have been wrong when comparing the Illmatic to Hip Hop is dead, I think he has a point in this discussion.
Posted from: 74.73.177.96
August 6th, 2008 07:40
There are four to five organizations that combat civil rights abuses in Manhattan. I don’t doubt their altruistic intentions because there are multiple similar organizations.
I do, however, doubt the judgments of both Jordan and Akshay and I can’t believe that I’m reading these kinds of posts here.
Posted from: 69.131.99.243
August 6th, 2008 08:41
I’m not sure why, on ANY level, lots of organizations of the same type means that *none* of those organizations exist to do good. Seems to making a few leaps of logic to me, but, whatever.
That being said, this reminds me of a “Friends” episode where a discussion is being held about whether or not there are unselfish good deeds. The conclusion? No, they aren’t, because at the very least, we’ll always feel good about doing good things.
However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t unselfish people, who would do those things even if, for some reason, it didn’t provide them with some benefit. I don’t see anyone saying why Karlyn couldn’t be such a person.
Posted from: 209.234.71.162
August 6th, 2008 11:58
intents are non-verifiable. criticize something you have the ability to comprehend.
Posted from: 98.195.66.198
August 6th, 2008 12:16
whether her intention was this or that, what she is doing is a genuinely nice thing for children and nothing else should really matter.
Posted from: 207.233.31.37
August 6th, 2008 13:08
I cannot think of anything more selfish than giving books to kids.
I personally will not help any children because I dont want to do anything that may be construed as self-aggrandizing by anyone!
Fuck those kids
Posted from: 96.229.143.242
August 6th, 2008 13:40
To be sure: Alison’s post about doing good things to feel good is quite different than saying that someone did something good for some material benefit.
Posted from: 69.112.6.178
August 6th, 2008 14:07
Karlyn, I think what you are doing is great. Good luck!
Posted from: 199.94.85.6
August 6th, 2008 14:28
even if it is for college apps, who cares? i don’t see the problem with helping kids and putting it on a resume (i’m not assuming she did it for any particular reason, just saying that it doesn’t really matter what her reasoning is).
it doesn’t really affect anyone who is up in arms, so why are yall saying anything?
Posted from: 66.233.57.238
August 6th, 2008 14:33
To paraphrase Maeshal: DON’T FRONT.
Jordan G doesn’t really exist, he’s The What.
Posted from: 74.73.177.96
August 6th, 2008 15:10
Maeshal: I decided to say something because I find the implication of the posts insulting to a person that I respect. That’s why people post in defense of other people on these threads all the time.
Posted from: 199.94.85.6
August 6th, 2008 15:31
jon, my post does not pertain to you or others who spoke in defense of karlyn. i was talking to akshay and jordan.
Posted from: 24.180.32.103
August 6th, 2008 15:31
Seriously, why are people even posting that’s it’s because she’s selfish. Those claims are 1) non verifiable, 2) entirely speculative, and 3) extremely rude.
Besides did it ever occur to you (by which I mean the people criticizing this project) that there would be MUCH easier ways to look good on college admissions (ex: volunteering for Boys and Girls Club, starting a group to clean up local parks periodically, getting an internship, etc.)
Karlyn really does deserve a lot of respect for this. Personally, growing up in a really small rural town in the middle-of-nowhere Nevada, on the lower end of the economic scale it was pretty hard to get books and a lot of what I read came from a local organization that collected people’s old books and gave them to kids. These types of programs (even if there are multiple) are extremely beneficial to kids. The more the better.
Posted from: 68.192.172.63
August 6th, 2008 15:57
this is a great idea and there is also a facebook group about this that you can check out which karlyn rudely excluded me from *ahem*. In any case, i was wondering what you mean by elementary-level books, because i kind of forget what I read during those days.
Posted from: 24.151.41.11
August 6th, 2008 16:24
Alright two things.
1) I never claimed Karlyn was in anyway being selfish. My original claim was that making humanitarian cause groups is now officially cool and trendy and as such I don’t think Jordan is completely out of bounds.
2) I don’t have a lot of money myself, so I can definitely attest to Rob’s comments.
Its VBD culture to bash the so called “agitators”. I am not one of them, I never claimed anything against Karlyn to be legitimate. I only pointed out something that currently a phenomenon I disagree with.
I apologize if I came off as rude. However, I do suggest actually looking into how altruistic organizations work and what they expect in return.
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2006/09/a_damaging_less.html
Posted from: 76.94.89.102
August 6th, 2008 16:41
i’m so happy we have watchdogs like Akshay! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Was it the recency of the article that suggested we had to raise suspicion regarding the intentions of Karlyn’s organization? Or maybe you were just being altruistic and took the time to dig up *something* in writing indicating that some people or organizations might not have (gasp) the noblest intentions? Either way, we are indebted to you!
Incidentally, are you still beating your wife?
Posted from: 24.151.41.11
August 6th, 2008 17:01
ok….. wtf
I’m sorry I haven’t done my homework and cut cards Bietz. Maybe I should go on JStor and email you some citations.
I’m officially done. Get over the fact that thread life can be tough. In turn, I understand your sarcasm.
Posted from: 69.131.99.243
August 6th, 2008 17:09
Sorry, just to clarify what I meant: I think I sort of agree with Maeshal. Just because Karlyn is doing something that will look good on a college application (and that she’d be silly not to feature on it) does not mean she is the type of person who wouldn’t do this if there did not exist this material benefit. Basically, the existence of the material benefit does not a selfish person make. My point was exactly that: there may be no unselfish good deeds, but Akshay/Jordan, etc. have no way of proving that the person in question is or isn’t unselfish.
Posted from: 75.4.1.208
August 6th, 2008 18:05
that was such a good episode
Posted from: 32.136.225.86
August 6th, 2008 18:55
I owe a huge apology to Maeshal. I totally misinterpreted the last part of his post!
Sorry. :o(
Posted from: 69.253.230.13
August 6th, 2008 19:10
Varun asked me to clarify what I mean by elementary-aged books.
I’m looking for everything from picture books (like Arthur, Clifford, Curious George, and any Dr. Seuss) to novels for young adults (Artemis Fowl, Midnight for Charlie Bone, the Trespassers, Number the Stars, There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom, A Wrinkle in Time, Ender’s Game, Harry Potter, and any books on about this level). Series like Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Junie B. Jones, the Magic School Bus, Cam Jansen, and Goosebumps are terrific.
Note: A book recommended for advanced fifth graders is Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones.
Posted from: 75.72.79.154
August 6th, 2008 21:03
I think I’ll come to to Grimstad’s defense here and say that A) I’m guessing he’s at least somewhat sarcastic, and B) even if he’s not, I agree with maeshal. Yes, chances are the way it will appear on Karlyn’s college aps had some influence on her decision, but even so, it’s still a cool idea that deserves props for doing so. Chances are, anyone smart who’s about to start looking into colleges will consider “how does this look on a college ap?” before doing anything on a larger scale. It’s still something that is a big project that requires a lot of dedication. In my mind, if someone is willing to do something big to help out their community, it’s a great thing regardless of why they did it. (Just so it’s clear, I’m not sure if I agree with Grimstad, it depends on if he was serious or not, and what he meant by that, but I do agree with Maeshal)
I’d think about doing something similar to this if A) I had to for school, B) I had this type of dedication, and C) I could force myself to keep at something other than debate for any extended period of time. Good job Karlyn, I hope this turns out well.
Posted from: 74.73.177.96
August 6th, 2008 21:18
Star Wars is good for the inner child in each of us.
Posted from: 75.73.219.166
August 6th, 2008 21:29
This thread is the apocalypse.
Posted from: 75.72.79.154
August 6th, 2008 21:29
Jon, I think there needs to be a module at session II called “how to use star wars in debate”.
Posted from: 24.180.32.103
August 6th, 2008 21:46
Jedi mind tricks would be very abusive in debate.
Posted from: 75.72.79.154
August 6th, 2008 21:50
I was thinking more along the lines of straight up Star wars analogies, or if Jon were to help us write a Jedi Order CP
Posted from: 24.180.32.103
August 6th, 2008 21:51
Wait I just had an idea…
Why not just call it Session 2: Return of The Phantom Advantage!
Posted from: 75.72.79.154
August 6th, 2008 21:53
lol, that’d work too
Posted from: 24.180.32.103
August 6th, 2008 21:54
@ Jedi Order CP: Does that mean on the reparations topic you’d run demote Mace Windu?
Posted from: 24.180.32.103
August 6th, 2008 22:00
because it’d be a tad messed up
Posted from: 96.229.143.242
August 6th, 2008 23:05
the best debater from the Star Wars universe would probably be c3po.
Good question, though, which fictional characters (in movies, tv, or books) would be the best debaters?
I think robots would probably dominate all humans.
The worst would be Frodo.
Posted from: 76.103.105.207
August 7th, 2008 00:22
definitely jules in pulp fiction
Posted from: 75.73.214.149
August 7th, 2008 00:30
debate is gay
Posted from: 24.186.38.46
August 7th, 2008 00:33
karlyn rocks. books are good for the children. period - as everyone has said, who the hell cares about intention?
this is all silly - i dont think that akshay was condemning karlyn or meant to bash her, but i do think it was an inappropriate and unnecessary post.
keep this up, karlyn!
Posted from: 68.117.65.95
August 7th, 2008 00:41
I agree with Ben. This was awful.
Posted from: 75.73.219.151
August 7th, 2008 01:07
my response is too long for text, so i uploaded it to youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHg5SJYRHA0
Posted from: 69.12.136.2
August 7th, 2008 01:29
Ben and Chris are completely right. We’re in the slow season on VBD.
Ravi is a gay nerd.
A prioris are turnable, weighable, and good for the soul.
*something about caselists*
Come on debate community, be more entertaining!
Posted from: 75.72.79.154
August 7th, 2008 09:19
1. Grimstad - I agree 100%
2. Catterton - Can’t you wait like a month till the season starts?
Posted from: 76.175.197.13
August 7th, 2008 10:26
Bietz: Ari Gold
Posted from: 75.73.219.151
August 7th, 2008 13:05
wat
Posted from: 71.214.199.128
August 7th, 2008 14:23
what are you talking about phelan
Posted from: 75.72.79.154
August 7th, 2008 14:41
I think grimstad’s response is accurate ;)
Posted from: 12.216.167.34
August 7th, 2008 15:41
_There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom_ is not a young adult novel. It’s about 4th or 5th grade. _Holes_ is a young adult novel, but _TABITGB_ is definitely pitched a lot younger.
Both are excellent novels, though.
Posted from: 69.118.137.26
August 7th, 2008 19:17
I going to go out on a limb here, but I think that if I were poor and my school lacked the resources necessary to buy books for its students I would appreciate this sort of charity irrespective of the underlying motive behind the action.
also, can anyone who does high school debate really criticize someone for resume building? I feel a world in which colleges didn’t care at all about high school debate would ultimately attract far fewer debaters than one that did.
Posted from: 75.73.219.151
August 8th, 2008 10:06
And now for tonight’s final word: We all realize that Jordan G makes himself look like a douchebag, and it is very likely that he is, at heart, a major loser. But before you begin using your awesome powers of sarcasm to e-tear him apart and ruin his e-reputation, consider whether or not he meant to call a girl he doesn’t even know selfish. Is he really mean and stupid enough to do that? Probably not. Does he enjoy making stupid comments to see the reaction they will illicit? Yes. Was this one of those comments? Yes. Did we all learn that it really doesn’t matter WHY she did it? Yes.
Have a good night, and god bless.
Posted from: 69.118.137.26
August 8th, 2008 11:48
I think you mean “elicit”, not “illicit”.
Posted from: 75.73.219.151
August 8th, 2008 12:58
“Me fail English? Thats unpossible!”
Posted from: 69.118.137.26
August 9th, 2008 00:12
that was a great Simpsons reference. well played.