GIRL, 9, EXCEEDS GOAL FOR BOOKS 1,000 VOLUMES SET FOR HOSPITAL KIDS.Byline: ERIC LEACH Staff Writer SIMI VALLEY Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. -- Samantha Tabak loves to read, so for a community service project at Atherwood Elementary School elementary school: see school. , she decided to collect and donate books to Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . Her goal was to donate about 500, but Thursday the 9-year-old girl had about 1,000 when she arrived at the Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades. hospital that has been specializing in the care of some of L.A.'s most seriously ill A patient is seriously ill when his or her illness is of such severity that there is cause for immediate concern but there is no imminent danger to life. See also very seriously ill. and injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. children for more than a century. ``I felt really good inside that I could help 1,000 kids be happy,'' Samantha said after she had delivered the books. Claire Austin, the hospital's bibliotherapist, said the hospital operates what it calls the Literally Healing Program to provide books to its young patients to help them learn to read and better understand the challenges they face. ``I was inspired to learn that a 9-year-old could complete such a collection effort,'' Austin said. ``Our Literally Healing Program is greatly indebted to the generosity and hard work of Samantha Tabak.'' ``Some will be given to the children to promote literacy,'' Austin said. ``It's really important.'' Samantha said she was surprised herself at how many books she was able to donate. ``I love reading and I love to share my passion with everybody,'' she said. When she went door to door and made up a flier asking for donations from other children at Atherwood, she was overwhelmed o·ver·whelm tr.v. o·ver·whelmed, o·ver·whelm·ing, o·ver·whelms 1. To surge over and submerge; engulf: waves overwhelming the rocky shoreline. 2. a. with the response. ``We brought a big green wagon to carry the books and could barely move it,'' she said. ``We got some very nice books.'' The donations from Atherwood came from students from kindergarten through eighth grade. Samantha did the project as part of the Certificate of Merit program started by her fourth-grade teacher Elaine Cobb for Atherwood's gifted students. ``Sam has a love of learning and she wanted to touch as many children's lives as she could with her love,'' Cobb said. ``I'm just thrilled for her. I know she is making those kids in Childrens Hospital very happy.'' eric.leach@dailynews.com (805) 583-7602 |
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