Civic group raises funds to buy books celebrating diversity and inclusion for Riverhead schools

A local civic group has raised $1,000 to purchase books for Riverhead schools celebrating diversity and inclusion. 

The Heart of Riverhead Civic Association, a civic group made up primarily of downtown Riverhead residents, raised the money on the website GoFundMe to cover the book purchases after just two weeks. Cindy Clifford, the civic association’s president, said the group is “really pleased and grateful and proud” to be able to make the donation on behalf of the community.

“We really believe the idea of our kids — all students, all people — getting to see their own stories reflected in books, and where that’s absent, then they feel like they’re outsiders or other than,” she said. 

The donation of books, which were chosen by school librarians to fit the theme of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), was requested by the town’s Anti-Bias Task Force (ABTF) at the beginning of 2023, before its membership — and leadership — was altered by the Town Board. The Town Board did not authorize the expenditure and, after the group’s reorganization, the donation stalled — despite previous approval by the school district and several votes by the Anti-Bias Task Force to purchase the books using a part of its small budget.

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The books to be purchased by the civic group are from the same list presented to the Town Board last year and contain stories and themes about topic such as disabilities, sexual orientation and race. Clifford was chairperson of the ABTF until last year and used some of its small budget to make the purchase and donation of books for the school district the two years before.

Emily Sanz, the school district’s administrator in charge of diversity and inclusion initiatives, said in a phone interview today that the district is happy to receive the books.

“We welcome any donation,” Sanz said. When she heard from Clifford about the intention to donate the books, she said she was “super excited.”

The donation is “timely,” Sanz said. The district’s newly formed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee is seeking to conduct audits on the school district’s curriculum and library materials to make sure they are accessible to all students, Sanz said.

Sanz said all the books are appropriate for school children and were reviewed by the school’s librarian and district office last year. 

Mark McLaughlin, the chairperson of the ABTF, said in an interview today that he is supportive of the donation “as long as the kids feel like it’s in their best interest” and the “school district approves.”

McLaughlin, a recent addition to the group who was appointed chairperson of the committee by the Town Board, and voted against the ABTF’s purchase of the books, said the group did not go forward with purchasing the books at the school district’s request. He said the district wanted its new DEI committee to review the list.

Sanz said the school district did make that request to the ABTF and the book donation was discussed within the DEI committee by Clifford, who is a member of that committee.