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Books Beyond Borders and the Silver Star Children’s Literacy Project, a student group from Austin Community College, are teaming up to donate books to Brown Santa this holiday season.

The students will present the books to Sheriff Greg Hamilton at a ceremony at 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 13, at the Austin Community College Rio Grande campus.

Former Mayor Bruce Todd, Chair of the Center for Public Policy and Political Studies at ACC, will introduce Sheriff Hamilton. Books Beyond Borders President Thomas Barker will also give brief remarks praising the efforts of the ACC students of Silver Star.

ACC’s David Lauderback, Ph.D., and Dr. Kathleen Christensen, ACC’s Vice President for Student Support and Success Systems, will kick off the event and introduce the ACC students that made the book drive happen. John Martin of Austin Select Baseball will also speak about his group’s partnership with the students.

ACC student Avy Gonzales conceived the idea for the Silver Star project. He says he was thinking about the nature of the connection between the college and the kids — and he hit upon the idea of promoting literacy.

Avy said the organization is in the process of applying for tax exempt status as an official 501(c)3 nonprofit group, and its mission is all about “being able to pass along the learning.”

Fellow student Marcos Larios brought Books Beyond Borders into the picture when he was trying to collect donated books and folks at the Austin Public Library pointed him toward the Tillery Street warehouse where Books Beyond Borders sorts, resells, recycles, and donates thousands of book every month — all benefiting the charity Project Schoolhouse, which has built three schools and two water systems in Nicaragua.

Marcos, a sophomore at ACC, said Books Beyond Borders President Barker was thrilled by the idea of Silver Star and helping Brown Santa. All of a sudden, through this unique partnership, the book drive was a roaring success.

“Thomas loved the idea,” Avy says. “I think it was a perfect marriage.”

Avy and his fellow students will announce the grand total of books donated to Brown Santa on Monday

The group also has plans for readings at libraries, children’s hospitals, and youth associations.

“Our star, the Silver Star, is going to light the path to learning,” he says.

Professor Lauderback said the project is a way for ACC students to engage with their community.

“What the students can do is take that education to the community and the kids,” Lauderback said. He added that Silver Star started at ACC, but with help from partners like Books Beyond Borders, Austin Select Baseball, ACC partners The Big Read, the Student Government Association, CPPPS and Mayor Todd, and the Center for Student Political Studies, the project can become a genuine grassroots student movement.

Books Beyond Borders is proud to be associated with such a valuable collection of organizations all working together to make the holiday season a little bit brighter through Operation Brown Santa and the students, professors, and administrators at ACC.