Photo provided Keenan Wright and Beau Pattingill, students at Richards Elementary School, work on a gingerbread house.
The forecast for downtown Columbus is heavy frost(ing) and gingerbread through the end of the year.
Book Buddies students and volunteers at Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. elementary schools have once again assembled gingerbread houses for the program’s annual display and fundraiser. As of late November, the plan was to have the houses on display at Gramz Bakery starting Dec. 1, said Director Gretchen Tregoning. They will remain there for the rest of the month.
“The tradition allows our volunteers and students to work collaboratively together, spend a few minutes working as a team, and it gets them very excited about sharing a book with the community,” she said. “…Our kids are always kind of surprised by it because we typically have different kids each year, but our volunteers look forward to seeing the kids do something a little more creatively during Book Buddies.”
This year’s display continues a recent tradition of having the gingerbread houses be based on books. Community members can vote for their favorites by making donations, which will go toward purchasing books and supplies for Book Buddies.
Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place, said Tregoning. These typically include books and other treats for students.
The annual tradition first began at the Inn at Irwin Gardens in 2013. The idea came from Ashleigh Fisher, who was the event coordinator for the inn at the time. The houses were then displayed at Viewpoint Books in 2014. Gramz has hosted the display since 2015.
According to Tregoning, the gingerbread houses for this year’s display were donated by the eastside Walmart.
Additionally, Columbus North High School student Brock Smith has created a new addition to the display as part of his senior project: gingerbread men to represent the students who participate in Book Buddies.
At present, there are 155 students who have designated buddies, Tregoning said. Additionally, there are other students who fill in if one of the regulars is absent.
“If I can fit it, it’ll have at least 155 gingerbread men,” she said, adding that they may also try to represent the students on their waitlist.
Book Buddies is a volunteer-based tutoring program that helps second and third graders in BCSC improve their reading skills.
Tregoning said that they train volunteers throughout the school year and would love for more to sign up.
Book Buddies sessions are held during the school day, and the program runs through April. Volunteers are able to pick a school that works with their schedule and only have to commit to an hour a week.
“There’s plenty of time left to help our students become stronger readers,” Tregoning said.
