Between February and April this spring, Phi Kappa Phi held its fourth annual Book Drive Competition. As part of the contest, 22 chapters across the country hosted drives to collect as many books as possible for an organization of their choice.

The book drives were held at both colleges and universities nationwide. Beneficiary organizations chosen by the chapters ranged from schools and libraries to other community organizations such as tutoring and mentoring programs, correctional centers and more.

In all, the participating chapters collected more than 7,000 books and $1,200 in monetary donations!

The four winning chapters whose drives collected the most donations were:

• California State University, Chico
• University of Missouri–Kansas City
• University of Missouri–St. Louis
• Western Illinois University

These winning chapters will receive a Little Free Library to place at a location of their choice. The Little Free Library is a freestanding box where anyone can donate and borrow books in an effort to promote literacy throughout communities—a prize that fits well with Phi Kappa Phi’s love of learning and literacy.

“I'm so happy that I was invited to be a part of this project because I can see that it has and will continue to make a difference in people's lives – one book at a time,” said Rebecca Meza, student vice president of the University of Missouri–St. Louis chapter.

Other chapters that hosted a book drive as part of the competition include Caldwell University, Eastern Kentucky University, Fort Hayes State University, Framingham State University, George Mason University, Ithaca College, Jacksonville University, Louisiana State University, Lycoming College, Murray State University, North Dakota State University, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi, University of North Carolina Charlotte, University of Florida, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, The University of Tennessee, University of Wyoming and Youngstown State University.

Since its creation, Phi Kappa Phi’s annual book drive competition has donated more than 35,000 books to organizations both locally and abroad. Chapters interested in learning more about the contest or how to host their own book drives or service projects can contact Kay White.