Literacy Project Launches in Trenton
Trenton community members recently announced the establishment of the Safkhet Literacy Project.
The new Trenton-based nonprofit organization is designed to support the currently active Trenton Books at Home Program, an initiative that has provided free books for Trenton youth since 2006.
Through Safkhet, the Books at Home program can now accept tax-deductible donations and apply for grants to support the program.
In a statement announcing the organization, Eric Maywar, spokesman and owner of Classic Books in Trenton noted, “For over 16 years, Trenton kids have come down to Classics Bookstore to select books to keep. We also partner with teachers and literacy organizations throughout the city to provide books directly to their students as well as through literacy-based projects and events — giving out thousands of books a year. We do this because, as research shows, having access to books at home increases the level of education children will attain.”
The organization’s board of trustees is as follows: chair, Pamela Sims-Jones, senior program associate at Mercer Street Friends Food Bank and former director of Leadership Trenton; vice-chair, Raj Manimaran, director of community relations at the College of New Jersey and board president of I Am Trenton Community Foundation; secretary, Margaret Griffin, former owner of Micawber Books; treasurer, Donna Maywar, assistant director for equity compliance at Princeton University and co-owner of Classics Bookstore; Todd Evans, host of the Capital City Open Mic; Nia Maywar, mechanical engineering student at Olin College of Engineering; Noah Maywar, senior at Notre Dame High School, Lawrenceville; and Laurice Reynolds, community organizer and “matriarch” of Classics Bookstore.
The Safkhet Literacy Project operates at Classic Books, 4 West Lafayette Street, Trenton. For more information or to make a donation, email classicsusedbooks@gmail.com.
Deaths
Rev. David H. McAlpin, Jr., 94, on August 5. The 1950 Princeton University alumnus was a founder of Habitat for Humanity in the Trenton area and led the organization for 30 years. He also founded Capstone Corp., a nonprofit, low-income housing developer serving communities in Mercer County.
Joan Needham on August 3. The active Princeton artist — whose works are in the collections held by the New Jersey State Museum, Princeton University, Newark Library, Prudential Life Insurance, and others — was also a Mercer County Community College professor for 33 years and an arts instructor at Artworks, Princeton Art Association, and the Trenton After School Program.
George J. Boccanfuso, 96, on August 29. He was a beloved caretaker at Princeton University Jadwin Gymnasium, where he worked for more than 70 years. He previously served in Japan and Germany during World War II.
Robert James Pluta, 93, on August 29. He taught high school science and nursing school chemistry before working as a pharmacist at North Princeton Developmental Center and in retail.
Donna D. DeAngelo Torrini, 79, on August 30. She worked for 37 years with the State Department of Transportation.
