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Book Signing To Raise Funds For Cotee River Playground
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Published: November 5, 2008
PORT RICHEY - Slow and steady wins the race, especially when you have friends to give you an extra push.
Cotee River Elementary School's playground area has been closed for nearly two years, the equipment in need of replacement. With work beginning this week, a relatively new friend of the school is doing what he can to help the school raise its end of the money for the project.
Children's author Robert Z. Hicks will be at Books-A-Million, 9570 U.S. 19, in the Embassy Crossing shopping center from noon until 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8. He will lead children in rhyming games and signing copies of his book, "Tommie Turtle's Secret," as part of a fundraising event for the school's playground project.
Hicks and his wife Betty organized the event with the store's assistant manager, Karina Sandlow, who was happy to oblige with the effort.
"We work with several schools in the area," Sandlow said.
During the three hours Hicks is at the store, a special register will be set up. Anyone who buys a book - any book - can make a contribution to the Cotee River Elementary School playground fund simply by paying at that register. Books-A-Million will donate 20 percent of the sales total to the Cotee River Elementary School playground fund.
The Hicks' became interested in helping the school back in May, when they came to give a presentation built around "Tommie Turtle's Secret." The story is a variation on the classic "Tortoise and the Hare" fable, with built-in lessons about the value of being a good friend and in appreciating oneself for our own unique gifts.
With long careers in education, Bob and Betty also came to impart an appreciation for language and the pleasure that can be derived from writing. Betty Hicks said she and Bob received about 250 thank-you letters from students after their visit.
"I think the kids could relate to Bob," she said, "the fact that Bob has a challenge."
A spinal infection in his teens left Bob Hicks partially paralyzed; he gets around in a wheelchair. Cotee River Elementary School is what is known as a "feeder" or "center" school, explained Principal Barbara Kleinsorge.
"Not every school can have an LPN on staff," she said. Instead, 10 surrounding grade schools send special needs students to Cotee River Elementary, which has the staff and facilities to meet their needs.
Except for functional playground equipment, that is.
A capital projects fund grant is paying the lion's share of the cost, but the school still had to come up with another $4,000. They have several fundraisers in the works. When Bob and Betty Hicks were at the school, they saw the condition of the playground and decided they wanted to help the cause, too.
"The special needs kids need a place to get out and play," Bob Hicks said.
The new playground will include ramps and other design features that will make it accessible to all students, Kleinsorge said.
The hope, she said, is that it will be complete in time to greet students when they come back from the holiday break.
Klint Lowry can be reached at 727-815-1067 or klowry@suncoastnews.com.
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