Book ‘Em North Carolina might be a one-day event occurring just once a year, but it is only the start of a year filled with the potential for raising literacy across our community.

February’s event raised $6,600 for literacy campaigns for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library of Robeson County via United Way, Communities In Schools of Robeson County, Friends of the Robeson County Public Library and the Lumberton Police Department for Reading Across America.

The event brought the series’ overall total to $34,600 — money donated to increase the reading skills of Robesonians. It is only a drop in the bucket, but what the event starts into motion each year is far-reaching.

Consider, for example, that Kiwanis Club of Lumberton has given away more than 400 books to children since the event was founded. Many of the books are dictionaries, beginning with picture dictionaries for children who have not yet learned to read, and going all the way to thesauruses for older children. These books can be revisited again and again for years to come, increasing children’s vocabularies.

Under the leadership of Chief Mike McNeill, the Lumberton Police Department has provided more than 1,000 books to schoolchildren using funding from Book ‘Em North Carolina. McNeill personally delivers the books, providing children with the image of a police official that some have never before seen — that of an organization that wishes to help the community. Some of the children receiving the books have never owned a book.

Schools that have benefited from Book ‘Em North Carolina funding through Communities In Schools of Robeson County include CIS Academy Charter School, West Lumberton Elementary, Long Branch, Fairmont Middle, Fairgrove Middle, Green Grove Elementary, Townsend Middle, Union Elementary and R.B. Dean.

In all, more than 1,750 students have received books through funding raised at the annual Book ‘Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair. Under the leadership of instructor Anne Kinlaw and Executive Director Dencie Lambdin, CIS Academy students chaired The Children’s Corner, where they taught the youngest readers how to create crafts depicting characters from their favorite books, listening to readings and participating in fun activities.

Then there are the writers among us who continue to benefit from the event, such as author Ginger King, who met her publisher, Mike Simpson of Second Wind Publishing, at the first Book ‘Em North Carolina event and who has gone on to write three successful fiction and non-fiction titles. Other benefiters included the eight winners of short story contests held by Robeson Community College, who each won $250 and the coveted opportunity to spend an entire day with a New York Times best-selling author.

Each year, dozens of published and unpublished writers converge on Lumberton to learn how to hone their craft and attract the attention of traditional, royalty-based publishers. And each year, the success stories range from the writers who learned how to make their stories better, to those who learned tips on marketing and promotional strategies — and everything in between.

The success stories continue well after the doors close on that final Saturday of February. For each child who reads, it ensures their children will one day be more educated and well-read. For each person who writes, it ensures an appreciation for the written word and the power it can hold over each of us. And for all of us as a community, it lends the possibility that a brighter future can emerge.

p.m.terrell is the author of more than 20 books, including two award-winning series set in Lumberton. For information about Book ‘Em North Carolina, visit bookemnc.org.