More than a dozen student-athletes volunteered their time early Sunday in Englewood, bringing over 1,000 donated books to Dulles Elementary School.
“Helping these students, it feels great honestly,” Adam Jedrzejczyk, a student and soccer player at Oak Forest High School. “Knowing you’re helping kids who don’t have the things you had, it feels very good.”
Student-athletes from schools across the city and suburbs are volunteering as a part of Buddy’s Helpers. Dulles Elementary School is getting 24 mini-libraries, thanks to the program and volunteers.
The school has been in desperate need as it's currently operating without its own library.
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“Our library in our school is very big, so knowing these kids don’t have one is very sad. So knowing these kids will get this now is great,” Jedrzejczyk said.
Alma Cruz is a former CPS student and volunteer.
“Not only do I love the feeling of helping people, but I know I would have loved the help when I was younger,” Cruz said.
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Some students even wrote personalized notes inside the book covers.
“Seeing all the notes in them, it’s inspiring, these books can inspire kids to do better things in their future,” Jedrzejczyk added.
The sweet surprise will welcome Dulles Elementary students on Monday morning - all thanks to a group of student-athletes making a difference both on and off the field.
