By By SHERRY DIGMON
Advance Staff Writer
Frontier Communications has thrown down the gauntlet.
The company recently donated $1,000 to Rachel Patterson Elementary School for the Bag of Books reading initiative.
In making the presentation, Ren Godwin, Frontier marketing manager, and Richard Burgess, Frontier general manager, challenged other businesses to follow suit.
Frontier is the second corporation to get involved in Bag of Books. Vanity Fair donated $2,500, as well as made the bags for the program.
However, not all donations are corporate. Some are very personal.
Retired teacher Imogene Brantley recently made a donation "in honor and in memory of 1,050 students I taught at Rachel Patterson for 32 years. Also in memory of my sister Mary E. Brantley."
One woman donated a book for each of her grandchildren who attended Rachel Patterson.
The Bag of Books initiative is designed to put books into the classrooms at Rachel Patterson – enough books so that each student can take home three books a week.
Drew hopes to instill a love for reading in her students and also to help them become better readers.
Drew said the students are getting excited about the program, even though school will be out this week.