Construction on the Harvest Community Center’s highly anticipated children’s library is finished, and Joseph Andrade, the 15-year-old Boy Scout who built it almost entirely on his own, is one step closer to becoming an Eagle Scout.
The library, which is now located in a room formerly used for storage in the Victory Harvest Church of God in Christ in Santa Maria, is the result of Anrade’s mandatory Eagle Scout project, during which Scouts are required to choose and lead a meaningful community service project. Andrade’s love for reading historical fiction and the Harry Potter series partially inspired his choice to build a children’s library in the Harvest Community Center, he told the Sun in a previous interview.
“I want to promote literacy in the community,” said Andrade, a freshman at Ernest Righetti High School and member of Orcutt Troop 95. “Having the ability to read makes you successful in life in general. And with kids, that’s where it really starts.”
With the help of various community donations, Andrade completed the library on schedule, according to Mayra Ramos, assistant director of the Harvest Community Center. Community members donated games, furniture, more than 1,000 new and used English and Spanish books for children ages 0 to 13, and Ramos said nearly 20 volunteers put in more than 100 hours altogether during the library building process on Feb. 24.
A professional painter volunteered to add a fresh coat to the entire library, Ramos said, and Elesa Carlson, a visual and performing arts teacher at Righetti High School, painted a mural.
“We’re overjoyed and so grateful to [Andrade] and Troop 95,” Ramos said. “I still can’t believe this was his Eagle Scout project.”
Although official hours have not yet been determined, the library is currently open for business. Several children were able to see and use the library on Feb. 25, and Ramos said they were ecstatic.
“Their faces lit up with excitement,” she said.
The library will also be used for the community center’s planned literacy program, Ramos said. Although the Harvest Community Center, a Santa Maria-based nonprofit, is dedicated to feeding families, the organization also provides various other services, including adult computer classes.
The literacy program, once rolled out, would help kids of different age ranges find books at their specific reading levels. Many children, Ramos said, quit reading because they struggle to find books within their reading capabilities.
To help fund the program, the Harvest Community Center will be holding a series of fundraisers at local restaurants, the first of which will be at Panda Express on March 1 from 4 to 8 p.m.
The community center hopes to have the literacy program running before this summer break, Ramos said.
This article appears in Mar 1-8, 2018.