Since her death in 2018, the family of Evelyn “Evie” Swierczynski has held an annual book drive for Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles in memory of the Burbank High School student who was rarely seen without a book.
The plan was to go to the post office.
In late fall, Burbank resident Meredith Swierczynski and her family planned to commemorate her daughter, Evelyn, by collecting donated packages of books and bringing them to a storage unit to be organized, as had been done for the past two years.
Evelyn, or “Evie,” was a Burbank High School student and an avid reader before her death, caused by leukemia, on Oct. 30, 2018. Since then, her family has held an annual book drive to collect donations for Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, where the 15-year-old was treated after her diagnosis. Part of that ritual is going to the post office to pick up donations.
This year, the post office called them.
You need to come and pick up the packages — today, a worker said; there isn’t any more space to hold them. About a week into the book drive, the Swierczynskis had received at least 150 packages, according to Meredith. She and her family — which includes her husband, Duane, and son, Parker — spent the day opening boxes and reading notes that had been included in them. Complete strangers sent dozens of books.
Continue reading “Book Drive Honoring Local Student Nets 2,000 Donations”
