Taft Pick a Reading Partner event brings unity in the community

Last Monday, the Taft PTA held its annual Pick a Reading Partner (PARP) event. The night is dedicated to fostering a love for reading through engaging games and activities. As long-time supporters of this initiative, the National English Honor Society (NEHS) at WHS was honored to provide student volunteers once again.

PTA parents Julie Trapnell and Jana Circosta led the Taft efforts, designing the interactive stations and overseeing the setup. On the high school side, NEHS junior Owen Leonard played a pivotal role; he enlisted volunteers, organized a successful NEHS book drive at the high school and ensured the evening ran smoothly.

“PARP was the first event in the National English Honor Society that I led, and I am so grateful to have done it. It was so rewarding to drop off extremely heavy boxes of books, knowing our chapter had accomplished such a feat,” Owen said. “Just as rewarding was seeing the joy and excitement of the young students of Taft. As a student who learned to love literature and writing at Taft, I felt so proud of our society to pass down this love to the younger generation.”

NEHS members donated books throughout the week, and Owen was able to collect over 150 gently used children's books, which were then distributed to the children at the event. Another fantastic student who stepped up was NEHS member Rhea Trapnell. She helped Jana and Julie by creating some of the literacy games, including the game "Guess Who," which was a big hit this year.