Student Ambassadors from Westdale Heights Academic Magnet (WHAM) School held dress-up days at their school to raise money for purchasing books for children in the community. The students at WHAM are avid readers and believe all children should be able to have books to read. They raised the funds to participate in Barnes & Noble’s opportunity to purchase books for children in the community.

Twelve students from WHAM participated in this exciting event! They were:  third graders Kaitlyn Kelly, Derrick Smith and Zachary Verret; fourth graders Catherine Cangelosi, Daniel Dickenson, Wesley Ennis, Isabella Purdy and Emma Young; and fifth graders Danni Fontenot, Aynsley Gaspard, Lauryn Jackson and Donovan Thomas. These students met at Barnes & Noble at CitiPlace on December 18 to purchase the books.
 
The students raised $600 and were able to purchase 161 books. These books were donated to the Capital Area United Way for distribution through their partner agencies to children in need.

Anyone else interested in purchasing a book for a child should visit Barnes & Noble Booksellers locations in Baton Rouge from now until January 1 as part of this United Way effort.  Buyers need only let the check-out clerk know how the purchase should be used.