In the spirit of the holiday season, the College of the Canyons Extended Opportunities Programs & Services/Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education & CalWORKs department is organizing a community-wide children’s book drive as part of the 8th Annual Holiday Book Festival being held in December.

From now through Monday, Nov. 26, the college’s EOPS/CARE & CalWORKs department will be collecting new children’s books for children ages infant to 14, with all COC staff/students and community members invited to participate.

Donated books can be delivered during regular college business hours to the college’s EOPS/CARE & CalWORKs office located in the Valencia campus Student Support Center, or the COC switchboard located in the Administration/Admissions Building, Room 101.

As the culminating event of the drive, COC staff members will allow children of the college’s EOPS/CARE & CalWORKs students to select two or three books of their choice to take home and read, during this year’s Holiday Book Festival.

The 8th Annual Holiday Book Festival will take place from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday. Dec. 1, in the COC Student Support Center located on the college’s Valencia campus.

As the children select their books, staff members will be on hand to cook pancakes and serve a holiday themed breakfast. The event will include strolling musicians and story telling, with all EOPS/CARE & CalWORKs students and their children and community supporters and their families invited to participate in the day’s festivities.

“There is no better way to show the children of our students the many benefits of a college education than by instilling a joy of reading at our Holiday Book Festival,” said Dr. Pamela Brogdon-Wynne, director of EOPS/CARE & CalWORKs at the college. “By participating in this book drive you’ll have the opportunity to become a part of this unique holiday tradition, and also experience the joy of helping a student in need.”

More about the college’s EOPS/CARE & CalWORKs

The Extended Opportunity Programs and Service is a state funded program, which provides support services to eligible students attending College of the Canyons.

The specific responsibility of the college’s EOPS department is to serve and encourage students to continue their education on the community college level, by developing and providing programs, services, techniques and activities that provide additional student support for students who demonstrate both a financial and academic need.

The college’s EOPS Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education program is a supplemental program of EOPS that specifically provides support for students caring for young children. Services include grants and financial stipends to help cover childcare and transportation costs, as well as counseling/advisement sessions, academic workshops and other networking activities specifically designed for single parent students.

The college’s California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program provides support services to students who are currently receiving public assistance (cash aid).The program emphasizes and supports higher education through academic advisement, personal and career counseling and work-study opportunities, while providing textbooks and other school supplies to students at reduced costs.

For more information about the College of the Canyons EOPS/CARE & CalWORKs department or how to participate in the 8th Annual Holiday Book Festival please contact Pamela Brogdon-Wynne at (661) 362-3278 or visit www.canyons.edu/eops.