Between February and April this spring, the Phi Kappa Phi Council of Students hosted its third annual Book Drive Competition. As part of the contest, 19 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 to hospitals to other community organizations including tutoring and mentoring programs, shelters, correctional centers and even a university in Kenya.

In all, the participating chapters collected nearly 7,500 books! 

The three chapters whose book drives collected the most donations were named as winners:

• Campbell University
• University of Missouri–St. Louis 
• Angelo State University

These chapters will receive a “Little Free Library” and $150 for personalizing their Little Free Library. The concept of the Little Free Library is a “’take a book, return a book’ gathering place” in a community—a prize that fits in well with Phi Kappa Phi’s love of learning and literacy. The chapters will decide where to place their Little Free Libraries whether somewhere on their campuses or in their local communities. 

Other chapters that hosted a book drive as part of the contest include Arkansas State University; Berry College, California State University, Sacramento; Campbell University; Duquesne University; Idaho State University; Ithaca College; Louisiana State University; Murray State University; North Dakota State University; University of Bridgeport; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; University of Maryland, College Park; University of Maryland, University College; University of Missouri, Kansas City; University of North Carolina, Charlotte and University of West Georgia.

To see photos from the book drives hosted across the nation, visit the Phi Kappa Phi Flickr page.

Chapters interested in learning more about the contest or how to host their own book drives or service projects can contact Kay White.