Retired Sequim Teacher Renee Mullikin seeks children’s books from the community for the Books for Belize program.

During the month of April, several local schools are hosting drop boxes for any new or gently used books. They include: Five Acre School, Greywolf Elementary, Helen Haller Elementary, Olympic Peninsula Academy, and Peninsula Adventist Elementary School in Sequim; and Queen of Angels in Port Angeles.

Anyone is welcome to donate.

Mullikin said during a recent trip to serve as a literacy coach in the Central America country at four schools, she discovered there were few books in classrooms or at home for students to read despite learning English as their first language.

She said books in Spanish are available but there are no children’s bookstores, and only a few libraries in larger towns. Once books are gathered, Mullikin said she will ship them this spring so schools can set up and organize their new libraries to welcome their students next September.

For more information, email to reneemullikin@yahoo.com.