Stella Niagara Education Park donates $1,933 worth of books to Damar Hamlin's charity, Chasing M's Foundation

Submitted by Stella Niagara Education Park

Stella Niagara Education Park, a coeducational elementary school in Lewiston, donated over 200 books valued at $1,933 to Damar Hamlin’s Chasing M’s Foundation. The school raised the money to purchase the books through a coin drive for Scholastic’s “All for Books” program during the annual book fair.

The “All for Books” giving program turns small donations into a big difference in many lives, from the young shoppers discovering their love of giving to the underserved populations aided by their contributions. Stella Niagara homerooms competed throughout the book fair to raise the most money to purchase books for the program. The sixth grade class raised the most money, followed closely by fourth and second grades. All three classes helped shop for the books that were donated.

Stella Niagara librarian Mrs. Trower learned about Damar Hamlin’s charity, Chasing M’s Foundation, last year after fans began donating to it after Damar suffered a cardiac arrest on the field while facing the Cincinnati Bengals. At that time, Mrs. Trower knew her theme for the 2023 book fair would be “Book make me want to SHOUT.” She immediately thought Hamlin’s charity would be the perfect place for our donation.

Mrs. Trower said, “We are excited to be able to donate over 200 books to Chasing M’s annual toy drive. Encouraging children to read not only increases their literacy strength, and provides hours of entertainment, but reading lets us know we are not alone in the world.”

In 2022, Stella Niagara donated $1,000 worth of books to the Oishei Children’s Hospital in Buffalo.

Stella Niagara Education Park students are thrilled to share the joy of reading again with others this Christmas season.

Go Bills!