John O’Melveny Woods donates from his own library to aid tornado-ravage Joplin schools. 

Woodinville, WA--July 20, 2011--The school libraries of Joplin, Missouri are a little less empty today.  After learning how recent tornados destroyed 262 classrooms and 16 schools in Joplin, leaving 13,000 students without books or supplies, author John O’Melveny Woods was moved to donate 500 books from his own collection to help refill school shelves. 

“Books were such an important thing for me as a young man” said Woods.  After learning about the district’s loss, the thought of Joplin’s children not having access to libraries and the literature within motivated him to donate.  “Books were much more predominant than TV when I was growing up, so books were way I could go on adventures and learn about things and basically expand my world.  I was constantly reading and I think reading was a way of learning to experience adventure and learning about the world.” 

Woods cites reading as being key to his success.  “Because of my early reading years, I think that I’ve been very fortunate in that the curiosity that is normal within a young adult child has always been kindled in me and never swayed away.”  This curiosity gave him the courage to leave a job in the corporate world and to become a writer, his lifelong dream.  He hopes the books in his donation will help students foster the courage to follow their own dreams.

"A book is like a garden in your pocket. We are planting the seeds of hope and growing joy," said Cynthia Brian of Be the Star You Are!, a radio program and childhood literacy organization.  Woods discovered the Joplin relief effort while a guest on Brian’s program Starstyle.  "I let authors who've I've interviewed know they could make a difference for the kids in Joplin by donating through our Be the Star You Are! Operation Disaster Relief. My goal was to get books to the district before school starts in September.”  Through the efforts of coordinators like Brian and authors like Woods, over $45,000 of books, cards, and games have already been shipped to the Joplin School District.

Information about Operation Disaster Relief and how to donate can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Operation-Disaster-Relief/126255420787274?sk=info

About Us:

John O’Melveny Woods is a writer and producer.  His first novel, Return to Treasure Island, is an award winning sequel to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, and his follow up Jesse James Secret was the basis for the hit history channel show Jesse James Hidden Treasure.  He is currently working on The Seekers, an interactive series of novels investigating some of histories greatest archeological mysteries.  For more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Mr. Woods, please contact Donnetta Campbell at 646.532.1512 or email at Dcampbell@thebarnyardgroup.com.  To find out more information about The Seekers please visit www.theseekers.com/