ZTA partners with Kilby School to help clean, organize

Maghan Youngblood helps sort and organize old computers in the Kilby School library. Youngblood is one of the members of ZTA actively involved in helping Kilby get organized and stay up to date.

Partnering with Kilby Laboratory School, the girls of Zeta Tau Alpha have made it a priority to help their neighboring school with any thing they need. Sorority members said they not only want to focus on supporting their philanthropy of breast cancer, but also on serving others.

One of the ways they said they are supporting Kilby is by cleaning out the school’s library and getting rid of all outdated and unused materials.

“All of the books that we are taking out of our library are getting sent to Collier Library,” said Shelly Hellums, media specialist for Kilby’s library. “From then on, the faculty of Collier will decide what to do with the books, whether it means recycling them or getting rid of them.”

Hellums said that the school takes pride in the material that Kilby’s library has and wants to continue replacing old books with new ones so that the library will be relevant and up to date for years to come.

“I thoroughly enjoy helping out Kilby,” said Tosha-Paige Brewer, a member of ZTA. “I went there from kindergarten through fifth grade, so it means a lot to me to be able to help keep the library in good condition for upcoming students.”

The service that ZTA is doing with the Kilby school library is one of several. Other projects in which the sisterhood will be helping Kilby include Gardening Day and the Kilby School 5K run. All proceeds for the race will go toward building a safe track for the students.

“Kilby is the only lab school left in Alabama, so us Zetas wanted to play our part in supporting them in every way possible,” said May Clouser, service director of ZTA. “Zetas volunteer weekly by doing things such as reading to students, working on bulletin boards, tutoring, and assisting students and faculty in any other way needed.”

Clouser said ZTA is excited to be working with Kilby and hopes to continue the partnership for years to come.