La Verendrye School students are flipping through a new chapter in community literacy after receiving a $1,000 cheque yesterday morning from the Portage Rotary Club to fund a mobile book cart.
The cart, stocked with free books for students and families to keep, culminates a months-long effort by Grade 2 students to promote generosity and reading access—a project born from classroom discussions and brought to life with Rotary’s support.
Lyla, a Grade 2 student, grins as she imagines filling the cart with her favourite reads.
“Because then we get to put books in it and then take it to the library,” she says.
Her top pick? Dog Man, a series where a canine hero tangles with a villainous vacuum cleaner.
“It has some interesting stuff, like the one that I’m reading. It has a vacuum cleaner that ate Dog Man.”
Classmate Greyson chimes in with his simple literary love: “The words.”
When asked about his current favourite, he too says it's Dogman because, “There’s funny stuff in it.”
The project began as a Grade 2 lesson on generosity, explains teacher Jessica Wilson.
“We were talking about what we could do to show generosity to the community,” she says.
Students suggested book donations, sparking the idea for a mobile cart.
The cart will let families “take [books] home to keep” and feature labels sorted by age.
Wilson emphasizes student ownership, noting, “They’ve really taken ownership of it. It started just like a little conversation on the carpet and grew into this.”
The class plans to decorate the cart and create bookmarks to accompany their free reads.
Kathy McFarlane, Rotary Club director of community service, says the $1,000 grant aligns with the club’s mission.
“These are the types of projects we like to be involved in,” she says. “It all goes toward enhancing life in Portage.”
The sturdy cart will rotate between classrooms and events, offering books for all ages.
McFarlane adds, “I heard today that some children’s parents read to them at night—this creates more opportunities for that.”
La Verendrye School welcomes gently used children’s book donations. Questions can be directed to Jessica Wilson at jessica.wilson@plpsd.net.
Lyla adds, “Some books have funny stuff in them, like when Miss Argue read us one about hockey and someone had spinach in their teeth!”
For these students, the book cart isn’t just a shelf on wheels—it’s a passport to giggles, adventure, and sharing stories far beyond the classroom.