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The National Beta Club has been resurrected and inducted back into Madison County High School, thanks in part to the hard work and leadership of Suzanne Griffin, the school’s Media Center Specialist and Beta Club sponsor. The purpose of Beta Club is “to promote the ideals of academic achievement, character, leadership and service among students,” according the National Beta Club’s website. The MCHS Beta Club was inducted this past Dec. 9 for students in grades10-12. The ceremony included a reception and music played by the MCHS Jazz Band, with members now boasting up to 95. It didn’t take long for the club to begin work as they began preparations for visiting the United Methodist Children’s Home in Pinetta for Christmas. A total of 45 from the high school visited the home, taking with them games to play with the kids, plenty of snacks and Christmas gifts. MCHS students were especially proud they were able to purchase gifts for the kids using their own money and were able to buy every child three gifts. Beta Club member Beverly Oro felt this way about buying gifts for children at the home, “I have never been without anything I needed or almost anything I wanted. To think that these children often went without things they actually needed broke my heart. I decided to make a change. It brought happiness to them and me as well; the experience made me feel grateful for what God has blessed me with.” Bethany Greenwood, another club member, said she purchased gifts for the residents because, “they should feel the same joy that I do every year,” and Ashton Pickels had this to say about the visit, “It was amazing...going out there and talking and playing with them brought them so much happiness and joy. It was great that the Beta Club was able to be a part of that.” A current project the club is working on is a Little Free Library program for Madison County communities. Little Free Library is a gathering place where neighbors or residents can “take a book, return a book,” sharing works of literature for free. The “library” could be as simple as a wooden box (usually designed off the ground, much like a mailbox) or resemble a work of art, with paint and designs that would rival any well built home. Beta Club president Bianca Serrano, with the help of Griffin, created a power point presentation to take around to Madison clubs, in hopes of getting support for building the little libraries. School Board Member Kenny Hall is offering his help to the project by way of building boxes. Griffin hopes to have the structures in Lee, Madison, Pinetta and Greenville. “We’ve already been receiving donated books, but if anyone is interested, we could always use more,” said Griffin. She also stated this project could be a good one for service organizations or churches to take on and sponsor. Griffin and the Beta Club are hoping to stimulate the love of reading into Madison County communities and promote literacy with the little libraries, and so far, have only one issue to address when discussing the program. Having a box full of books where anyone can stop, pick up a book or two, or more, and not leave one behind is a concern for some. But Griffin’s enthusiasm was not squelched as she excitedly said, “You CAN’T steal it…it’s free!” If you or your organization would like to sponsor the Little Free Libraries, you can call the high school. To learn more about the libraries, visit the Little Free Library website at littlefreelibrary.org.