GoFundMe Aims To Help Underserved Peninsula Students

REDWOOD CITY, CA — A Redwood City School District librarian has started a GoFundMe drive in support of a school that serves predominately socioeconomically disadvantaged and English learners.

Diane Ocon, who works at Adelante Spanish Immersion School, launched the GoFundMe Monday to help students at Hoover Community School with the goal of $5,000.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the "Help fill Hoover School's library with new books!" drive had raised $995.

Ocon considers herself fortunate to work at a school with a supportive Parent Teachers Organization.

“But other schools are not so lucky, and Hoover is one of them,” she said. “These students deserve to have nice things, and beautiful books are one of them.”

Ocon said she became aware of the need to fund Hoover’s library when she visited the school earlier this year to help a colleague.

“I left there so sad and knew I had to do something to get the word out,” she said.

The coronavirus crisis has led to staggering losses in Redwood City public school libraries due to loss, damage or books that weren’t returned, valued at around $50,000.

Hoover’s library was remodeled about six years ago and received a major donation of new books but most books on its shelves today are outdated, she said.

“We live in a very supportive community that is just not aware of the inequity at our school sites,” Ocon said.

To help visit Help fill Hoover School's library with new books!

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