Brandon DeMarco, a senior at Los Alamitos High School, and his mother, Rachael, were talking recently in their Rossmoor home about the need to pack up items as Brandon prepares to graduate and leave for college.
That included the many books in his room. Rachael had an idea: Why not donate them to a school near their family business in East Los Angeles?
They decided to see if anyone else wanted to help in the effort. All it took was a few posts on social media to summon the generosity of local families.
Earlier this month, Brandon stood outside his home as neighbors and strangers donated elementary school-age books.
“They were all so happy to give their books to kids in need instead of the books sitting on shelves in their house unused,” Brandon said, explaining how he enjoyed seeing the community come out to support children’s literacy. “There’s going to be happy kids reading those books.”
Brandon ended up collecting more than 1,000 books. “We are so grateful,” he said.
Last Friday, Rachael delivered the books to Belvedere School in East L.A. after connecting with Karen Castro, the Community School Coordinator for the PreK-5th grade campus.
“Thank you so much for the donation,” Castro said in an interview on Monday. “Not only has your community been able to support Brandon, but they are also able to support more than 800 students.”
Castro said the 1,000 books couldn’t have come at a better time. She said many students do not have many books at home.
With the donation, each Belvedere student is going to be able to take home a book that they will select themselves during a campus book fair. Other books will be used for an after-school reading program.
“It means a lot that they can take the books home,” Castro said. “The kids will be excited.”
Rachael said she’s always placed an emphasis on giving back and volunteering with her children. That has taken on a new meaning this year after Brandon experienced a medical scare. He had to undergo surgery to remove a growth. Fortunately, it turned out to be benign.
“It changes a lot of things,” Rachael said of her son’s medical journey. “You become more grateful; you become more appreciative. We were the fortunate ones that got to go home from the hospital that day and it makes you want to pay it forward.”
