NEW:Union Hill Elementary Dedicates New $100,000 Library

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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Joe Parello, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

The library's creation was originally the community service project of these Worcester Academy students.

Thanks to the work of five young Worcester Academy students, one elementary school unveiled a brand new library Tuesday.

Union Hill Elementary’s new library is the result of a community service project launched last year by five 7th grade students as a part of the Destination ImagiNation Program. Because of those students’ efforts, and the generous donations of local businesses and individuals, the Union Hill library was constructed and furnished over the past year. Union Hill Principal Marie Morse stressed the importance of the new facility.

“We are very pleased to open the new library to our students and grateful for the initiative of the Worcester Academy students behind the project, and all others who supported the effort.” Morse said. “Union Hill students, like all children, deserve access to the tools that are essential for their success. Reading is a critical skill, a source of lifelong enjoyment and enrichment, and the surest way to help students achieve their full potential.”

Also integral to the building of this library were publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the Hanover Insurance Group, Worcester Academy and the Worcester Public Library. Worcester Academy sent students periodically throughout the year to help put things together in the library, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt donated 5,000 books to the school.The library, with its shelving, furnishings, electronic-cataloging system and over 8,000 books, is estimated to have been a $100,000 project. The library will be an open resource for both the children of Union Hill and their families.