Local Teacher Margaret King Honored With DAR Community Service Award

On Saturday, March 24^th, during their meeting at the Patchogue Medford Library, the Colonel Josiah Smith Chapter NSDAR presented a DAR Community Service Award to Margaret King for her outstanding work in local literacy promotion. Ms. King, a second grade teacher at Medford Elementary School, thanked the chapter's members for recognizing her efforts and for contributing to her community programs. "It may not seem like collecting these [children's] books makes a huge difference, but it does," she said, adding that without the support of the community, she could not do what she does. "I truly love getting books into the hands of children."

These days King keeps herself busy with more than a couple of literacy projects. "I do have [the Medford] Bookmobile. We go around for three weeks in the summertime. We have a great public library here. It's phenomenal." She cited the Thousand Books Program, which encourages parents to read with their preschoolers to foster early reading skills as one example of what the library offers its patrons. The problem, she explained, is that the area the library serves is large, and transportation to it isn't always readily available or affordable to some. "We have 60% poverty in our school. You have to realize that sometimes there's only one car, and that car's gone all day with the person who is working, and so, to walk to the library is not a very appealing thing for someone watching a lot of little kids, and so they don't get the books they need."

Her first project idea, Literacy at the Laundromat, came about after a conversation with her students. "I taught Saturday school for a while at one of the public schools. I said, so what do you guys do after you leave school? They said, we go to the laundromat. What do you do at the laundromat, I asked. They said, we just hang out and get in trouble for pushing those carts, we bug our parents… you know. And I said, what if you had books there?" So, King began collecting children's books, purchasing them from garage sales and culling them from various sources, to stock a bookcase there. "[There is a sign that] says 'Please return the books when you're done,' but not too many get returned. Usually by the end of the week, the rack is empty—but that's okay, because somebody is taking home a book and maybe somebody is reading it, and that's what's really important."

Since starting Literacy at the Laundromat, King has launched other projects to promote children's literacy and also to help struggling families. "I have a 'Library at Lunch' that I started. There are racks of books in the lunchroom, and the kids can read [after they finish eating]. I also opened up the Family Resource Center, and so once a week [at Medford Elementary School] teachers volunteer for an hour and a half every Wednesday night, and we give homework help. We also put out notices where soup kitchens are available in the area. We have a clothing area… and we also keep the cabinet stocked full of food, paper products, soap, toothpaste, detergent and all sorts of things that families might need. I also happen to work at the soup kitchen in Sayville, and I so I know the need has gotten greater in our community as the years have gone on... You would never know that maybe some of your neighbors whom you might think are doing okay or not doing as well as they had been."

Along with the framed certificate, King accepted two bags full of new and gently-used books for her projects. "Of all the awards I ever presented, however many there are, this is the one that means the most to me personally," said Colonel Josiah Smith Chapter Regent Betsy Bloomer, who fondly remembers her mother opening a library annex in the basement of their home in New Hyde Park for neighbors who had difficulty making the trip to Great Neck, where the nearest public library was. The chapter collects books for Ms. King's programs on an ongoing basis.

In 2010, King won the Alfred William Literacy Award, sponsored by Scholastic, Inc., UPS, The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation and The National Center for Family Literacy (http://www.famlit.org). Previously, she had been named Long Island Advance Woman of the Year for her community efforts. "I've been very blessed," says King, about her work. "I get to do what I love to do every day and I think that's so important." Anyone who wishes to make monetary or book donations is welcome to stop in at Medford Elementary School, 281 Medford Avenue, Patchogue, to do so.

Founded in 1890, The Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage organization dedicated to volunteer service, educational enhancement, and historic preservation.  Any female over eighteen years of age who can prove blood descent from an individual who aided in the quest to obtain American Independence is eligible to join.  Interested parties are invited to visit the chapter’s web site at http://www.nydar.org/chapters/coloneljosiahsmith.html for more information.  The ladies are always enthused about welcoming new membership.

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Kathleen P. Vermaelen is a freelance writer and editor who works out of Bayport, New York. She is also a member of the Colonel Josiah Smith Chapter NSDAR. Samples of her work can be seen at her web site, http://www.paumanokcommunications.com.