Residents here looking for a new book to read don’t have to go any further than Haven Hollow Park, 330 West 700 North, thanks to a group of local Cub Scouts.
Cub Scout Pack 316 dedicated a “Take a Book, Leave a Book,” at the park this past weekend. The scouts constructed the little library and filled it with books for adults and children. The library will allow people to borrow a book, read it and then return it. Residents may also drop off books they are no longer in need of to the library.
“We wanted to be a pack that does as much for our community as possible,” said Cub Master Tiffany Palmer.
The Cub Scout family pack of 19 boys and girls in grades kindergarten through five only recently formed in the community.
Palmer said they reached out to Portage Township Parks & Recreation Superintendent Taylor O’Neal to see how they could partner and decided to take on the little library project.
“This is a pretty special day for us,” O’Neal said at the dedication. “This is an example of how organizations can make a difference at our parks.” Portage Township Parks & Recreation is a service of the Portage Township Trustee’s office and operates three parks in the community including Haven Hollow, Field of Dreams and Jim H. Lynch parks.
“Community service is a big part of us,” said Abby Swift, committee chairwoman of the project, adding the pack wants to “reach out and connect” with the community.
The little library is located on the edge of the playground at the park. Younger members of the group sanded and stained the wood while the older members of the park participated in its construction. The pack also collected books to stock the library.