Midshipmen sort through books donated to the Books for International Goodwill (BIG) project Nov. 21. The BIG program, sponsored by the Parole-Rotary Club of Annapolis, organizes and ships donated books from Annapolis citizens to schools and libraries in impoverished communities in the U.S. and overseas. Photo courtesy of Midn. 1/C Victor Hurlbert.

Many of the Midshipmen involved with the program feel it’s appropriate that the Academy emphasizes com-munity service in light of recent expert opinion that America’s future national security depends on increased economic and diplomatic aid.

‘‘This project was a way for Midshipmen who don’t sometimes have the time or means to get out and do a community service project a chance to see what it felt like to help others,” said Midn. 1⁄C Amanda Taylor, who coordinated the SMT.

The BIG project’s ultimate goal is to ‘‘spread peace through literacy,” since education offers progress and an alternative to various forms of violence, including terrorism. BIG also sends novels to victims of natural disasters in the U.S. and to U.S. troops stationed abroad to help boost morale.

‘‘I felt very rewarded after working with the BIG program. I had not thought about how difficult it must be for some people to gain access to the books we have here,” said Midn. 4⁄C Zachary Patrick. ‘‘My favorite aspect of the project was that these books were meant to be thrown away, but now are being used again.”

What made this specific SMT unique for 4th Company was the number of Midshipmen involved. Forty-two Midshipmen, including first and third class and Plebes, volunteered their free time to box books for shipping. On account of this large turnout, 4th Company gathered and boxed 8,000 books destined to Ghana.

‘‘I was surprised to hear about how many books go in and out of that facility on a weekly basis,” said Midn. 3⁄C Charles Celerier. ‘‘It's awesome that the service I did today will eventually have an impact on the education of children and adults in a foreign country.”

In addition to SMT, MAG coordinates with extracurricular activities (ECA) wishing to participate in the BIG project. Workers operate the Parole-Rotary facility every second and fourth Saturday of the month and are always seeking extra hands to help prepare books for shipment. MAG also provides bins for Midshipmen to donate used textbooks at the end of each semester.

For more information on volunteering, contact Midn. 1⁄C Fritz Tolle at m106666@usna.edu or Midn. 1⁄C Victor Hurlbert at m103066 @usna.edu. Visit www.big-books.org for information about the project.