Grand Valley Magazine

STORY BY BRIAN VERNELLIS / PHOTOS BY KENDRA STANLEY-MILLS

Amid a canyon of towering metal-frame shelving units, Megan Freudigmann is focused on a stack of boxes brimming with books. Freudigmann rifles through box after box, pulling a few books aside for safekeeping.

“This one is good for a fifth or sixth grader, and this one is more for junior high,” said Freudigmann, thumbing through the books in her arms. “My son loved this one.”

Freudigmann, a faculty member in the College of Education and Community Innovation, is not alone amongst the labyrinth of shelving. There is a swirl of activity throughout the Storehouse of Community Resource’s 60,000-square-foot warehouse as dozens of CECI students are combing through hundreds of boxes containing thousands of books.

The electric scene is thanks to the partnership between the nonprofit Storehouse and Grand Valley’s Michigan Literacy Project, the conception of Freudigmann and fellow CECI faculty member Sheryl Vlietstra. Through the collaboration with Storehouse, the Michigan Literacy Project is providing books for the next generation of PK-12 and special education teachers. 

An hour of volunteer work at the nonprofit has granted the CECI students and prospective teachers their reward — the opportunity to stock their future classrooms with free books. 

Down the aisle, Michaela Krull, Storehouse’s member and volunteer director, pauses to gather her focus and direct traffic amongst the slalom course of boxes. 

“I keep getting shivers when I look down the aisles because I see our students with their stacks of books.”

Megan Freudigmann, faculty member

Founded eight years ago, Storehouse serves a significant function for school districts and other nonprofits, providing them with a direct connection to product donors who provide anything from hygiene products to clothing and shoes to office supplies and furniture.

Think of it as a Costco for school districts and nonprofits across West Michigan, said Krull. Members pay a small fee for access to Storehouse’s warehouse. 

“We receive the donations in large quantities, we house it in our warehouse and then our nonprofits and school members basically shop our warehouse like a retail space,” she said.

“A lot of organizations get their copier paper here because they can save so much just on paper.”

As for the involvement of the Michigan Literacy Project and the dozens of CECI students, Storehouse received an enormous quantity of books from the publishing house Scholastic. 

“We received $500,000 or more of Scholastic books,” Krull said. “It was 90 pallets and each pallet is about 3,000 books. So yeah, hundreds of thousands of books.

“When they were delivered, we were using every available space for books because we had so many.”

The job of processing and organizing the collection looked insurmountable with the Storehouse’s handful of staff and volunteers. Inundated with books, Krull and the Storehouse staff reached out to their friends at Michigan Literacy Project. 

Freudigmann and Vlietstra founded the Michigan Literacy Project, which helps recent graduates build their classroom libraries for underserved public school districts across the state. Krull and Freudigmann also shared mutual friends and the Storehouse had previously hosted interns. 

“We don't have the manpower to sort it, so we thought what if we use the recipients to help sort it,” said Krull, herself a former teacher. 

“They're going to take what they take to their own libraries, but then also help us sort the remainder of the books for us to then send out in trucks to other organizations. It was a win-win.”

In exchange for their time organizing the shipment, each CECI student helping would receive 240 books to build their libraries. Some students came prepared, wheeling in roller luggage to handle their bulky haul.

With their numbers and exuberance, the students made short time of the Storehouse’s stock. 

“I tried to sort a pallet of books just to test out how long it would take,” Krull said. “It took me an hour and a half by myself.

“They did 15 pallets in 30 minutes. It was amazing.” 

One of those CECI students, Amanda Freeman, was very grateful for the opportunity to build her classroom library. Freeman wrapped up her student teaching assignment on December 6, a day before her own commencement. She said she recently received an offer to teach fourth grade and can’t wait to be in her own classroom.

“This is like a dream come true for me,” Freeman said. “It’s really helpful in terms of jump-starting a classroom library. 

“I feel like that's the biggest stressor. Books are expensive, and being able to have 240 books, or anywhere near that, like 100 books, is a really big help.” 

Nearby, senior Sky Trimble sorted through her collection, which included some of her favorites, “Pete the Cat,” and the “Percy Jackson” series. 

“I loved those in middle school,” Trimble said. “That was a trip down memory lane.” 

Trimble, who graduates in April with a bachelor’s degree in special education, emphasized how the collection would support her future students.

“It’s a great opportunity because, especially for special education, I'm going to have a whole range of levels in my students,” Trimble said. “I wasn't really sure what to expect, but there’s every level that I could possibly need. 

“You get your first teaching job and then you have to spend your own money on all the books. Now I can focus my attention on other parts of my classroom and have this really important part already done.”

Meanwhile, Freudigmann beamed with pride watching her students organize and sift through the Storehouse’s vast inventory. 

“I keep getting shivers when I look down the aisles because I see our students with their stacks of books,” Freudigmann said. “I think about the impact and the lives that will be touched and impacted by these books, and it’s just super exciting.”