May 2011 update

New photos from Chamberlain Elementary School as the kids enjoy the new books!

March 2011 update

The first six photos are from Chandler Elementary School.  They loved the books!

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Goshen News, Goshen, IN

December 10, 2010

Woman's love of reading being passed on by online pals

By ROD ROWE
THE GOSHEN NEWS

GOSHEN —

Sherry Nisly loved to turn the pages of a good book.

Now, 18 days after her death, hundreds of Goshen children will have a chance to embrace reading for their own lifetimes.

The family of the late Sherry L. Nisly, who died Nov. 23 after a two and one-half year battle with cancer, Friday presented plaques to two Goshen schools that will benefit from a donation of 1,500 books in her memory.

Mrs. Nisly obtained many of her books through the online service paperbackswap.com. Members of the organization mail each other books and accrue credits for each book traded. They then can use those credits to select books from other members.

After Mrs. Nisly died, her husband Marcus, also an avid reader and member of the Web group, posted a notice about her death. Memorial donations then began to flow in to honor her.

Donations and her credits for books from her involvement will allow the organization to provide 1,500 books to two Goshen elementary schools.

"Within a few days, they maxed out for 1,500 credits," her son, Eric Nisly, Goshen, said. He explained his mother attended both Chamberlain and Chandler elementary schools and Eric and his brother, Todd, attended Chandler, so those schools were targeted to benefit from the book donations.

Eric and his father announced the gifts to the schools and their libraries Friday.

Eric explained his mother "always enjoyed reading. She worked with me (on reading)," when he was a student. She also volunteered a couple years at Chandler, he said.

"We were flabbergasted," said Chamberlain Principal Don Jantzi. He said the announcement sounded too good to be true and just came out of the blue. "We thought someone was pulling our leg."

"We are thrilled to have 750 books coming," he said. He noted that Sherry attended Chamberlain and at least one staff member there still remembers her.

"It’s great fun. It’s like winning the lottery," said Lisa Lederach, principal at Chandler Elementary School. She said school officials will be able to pick out 750 paperback books from Scholastic Books for the school’s library.

"It’s a very cool thing," Lederach said. "Blessings to Sherry and her family."

She said she understood that Sherry was a student for a time at Chandler, but went on to Chamberlain.

"She wanted to honor the schools," she said.

March 1, 2011

Dear Paperbackswap Members,

On behalf of Hums Elementary School, I would like to thank you for the generous donation of hard and soft cover books to the Hums Library donated in memory of Tracey Hunter Mast.  Tracy attended Hums in the 1980's and was an avid reader with fond and special memories of her years at Hums.  Each donated book has a dedication stamp with her picture on it.  Tracey's family was present when the Board of Schools Trustees accepted the donation.  They were quite moved and their appreciation was obvious.

I am sure that these books will be appreciated and will enhance the reading experience of many students now, and in future years.  What a beautiful way to honor the memory of Tracey.

Thank you again for the generous gift.

Sincerely,

Daniel R. Tower,

Interim Superintendent of Schools

Update!  December 2010

(Be sure to check out the new pictures on the Gracious Granny page)

Thank you from Shamrock 4th Graders! 

We appreciate your book donations!!  We love to read and we have been enjoying all the books. Thank you so much! We hope you enjoy seeing the photos of the kids and their thank you notes and drawings

Jennifer Henard

4th Grade Shamrock ISD  

5/17/2010 

A final note of thanks....

We continue to be genuinely overwhelmed and amazed by the generous spirit and compassion of you, our PBS community. Your response to this tribute to LeAnne Grant surpassed our expectations, and we are honored to have been able to be a part of it.

The new books will be in the hands of the children of Shamrock Elementary later this month, nurturing new readers and future PBS members! We truly appreciate, and thank you, for the continued support of Paperbackswap.com's charitable donation programs.

Richard and the PBS team  

5/10/2010

A thank you from the Shamrock Elementary Librarian...

I am the K-8 Librarian at Shamrock Elementary and Jr. High. I would like to extend a thank you to all the donors who so graciously donated books to our school in LeAnne Grant’s memory. Wow -- so many books, that’s amazing.

I do not keep a huge amount of paperbacks in the library simply due to the fact of wear and tear. Elementary and Jr. High children are very hard on books as you can imagine. However, I would be honored to put into circulation some of the books. I think it might also be of good use to allow some of the classroom teachers here to have some of the books for their classroom libraries. Additionally, our school is classified as “Title One” meaning a great percent of our students are low income. I think it might also be nice to award some or all of the students with a book that they could call their own.  Thank you again for your donations!

Shanda Hall

K-8 Librarian, Shamrock Schools

4/23/2010

A Thank you from LeAnne's dear friend, Cali....

A note from LeAnne's Daughter, Brenda:

Special Message to PaperBack Swap & Friends

Recently my mother passed away on March 14, 2010 on a beautiful Sunday morning. You knew her as Gracious_Granny (LeAnne Grant).

My mother was a special person who always was willing to help anybody at anytime. I would like to express my appreciation to PaperBack Swap who gave my Mother a purpose in her later years. Paperback Swap saved her life because she had become home bound. She enjoyed helping people learn about the web site and helped them find the books they were looking for. She made many friends over the past 5 years.

I wish I could express my feelings about PaperBack Swap because, it was a savior to me. I always felt guilty leaving her at home while I went to work. I worked many long hours and sometime 7 days a week. However, she had made so many friends and contacts through PaperBack Swap that it kept her very busy and she was happy that she could contribute in a small way to many people. Therefore, I felt less guilty because I knew she was happy helping people.

Sometimes, she would talk about her friends at PaperBack as her family. I am glad you were her extended family. She needed you and I needed all of you!

My mother read all my life. As a result I read and my family reads. Nowadays, people don't have time to read and would rather be entertained through other media. I think there is no better entertainment than my imagnation. My Mom taught me that important lesson as a child. I can still see Mom in bed reading her books. Sometimes, she would have a stash of Hershey kisses beside her bed.

Today, as I was preparing for the funeral, I ran across a postcard that I sent to mom many years ago. It was a Winnie the Pooh post card that said: “Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh," he whispered. "Yes, Piglet?" "Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw, "I just wanted to be sure of you."” The reason this card was important to me was because on the back of the card I wrote Mom you will always be my Pooh! In the last few days of Mom's life I was Pooh. I believe that mom was Pooh for all her friends at PaperBack Swap!

I wish I could tell each and everyone of you Thank You for being kind to my mother and making her life worthwhile. A Special Thank You to Cali Muir! “If there ever comes a day when we can't be together keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever!” Thank you, Cali, for being my mom's friend and for being a new friend for me.

Brenda Shepard

726 Encino Dr.

New Braunfels, TX 78130