Most Skokie students attend schools in five different public school districts that feed into one high school district with two campuses. Many do not meet their cross-town peers until ninth grade and students who don’t fit into typical school activities or defined social groups need alternatives to make connections. Action Book Club builds community by uniting sixth graders across districts and providing a meaningful community service experience.

Librarians selected a novel based on readability and themes that resonate with sixth graders: starting middle school and friendship. Book characters volunteer at an organization like CARE so the content related directly to the project. A liaison at each school identified interested participants, the library delivered books before winter break to allow ample reading time, discussions were in the schools and CARE visits were on Saturday mornings to avoid afterschool conflicts and allow parents to provide transportation.

Lunchtime book discussions made Action Book Club fun and social. Volunteering connected students to each other and the community. In total, 78 sixth graders at all five school districts discussed the book, 31 (40%) read picture books to dogs at CARE and 13 students met a peer from another school. This program met community needs, will have enduring effects on how students view their roles as contributors to society and can be adapted for other service projects or scaled based on community demographics.