The Principal of Ron Brent Elementary School is amazed at how quickly the outdoor book exchange was rebuilt by a local contractor.
The new book box was made by Derek Andrew of B3 Elite Contracting who grew up in the neighborhood.
Dan Watt says this washes away the initial shock of having the first book exchange burnt down.
“I am really pleased that somebody said ‘hey let’s get this rolling right away’ and I think my initial shock was still getting over the fact that somebody would do that to a book box that’s all about learning and encouraging a love of reading.”
He adds even if the structure didn’t get rebuilt so quickly, the amount of support shown from across North America has been nothing short of fantastic.
“There is a connection from California, somebody from Newfoundland and a number of offers from people who wanted to build boxes and ship books so that has been really encouraging.”
The story went from heartbreak to triumph in a short amount of time and is an experience Watt wants to share with his students once the new school year commences.
“The ironic part about this is that I haven’t had a conversation with our students and our staff so telling this story and making this apart of Ron Brent’s story if you will is an exciting part for me and I’m really looking forward to our back to school assembly and sharing some stories and pictures with our students about what’s taken place over the summer as well as the support in the city and across the province.”
The burning of the first book box actually created some awareness that there was such a thing in the area with tons of people now seeking out the new structure.