Book vending machine comes to CG Johnson Elementary School.

Drop in a golden token, get a book. That’s how the new book vending machine works at the CG Johnson Elementary School.

On October 1, Matt Reed of the First Class Children’s Foundation presented the machine to the students who were assembled in the playground. He came across the idea and decided to bring it here.

“Actually, other book vending machines have been done before, but nothing in this area, and so I thought it was a good idea and wanted to bring it,” he said.

Two benefactors of the project, Jennifer Reynolds-Hamilton and her husband Jay, were present at the ceremony. Reynolds-Hamilton she was glad to be a part of the project.

“When he (Reed) told me about this project and how its about promoting kindness and goodness and things like that—I think our world needs more of that— … I’m all about it,” she said.

Other benefactors were there as well as the DuBois Beaver mascot. What the students didn’t know was that the person with the mascot costume on was none other than DuBois Area School Distract Superintendent Wendy Benton.

To get a book, the students can get a token through the school’s Caught Being Good program. Principal Dr. Edward Dombroski said the program has been at the school for the past few years and honors those students who are caught being good.

“It’s our positive behavior program for the building,” he said. He added that every adult in the building has a ticket. If they observe a student doing something kind for a fellow student or an adult, they write that student’s name on the ticket and place it in a box in front of the main office. Every other Friday, tickets are drawn from each grade level. The students are eligible for different prizes, and now a golden token for the book vending machine has been added to the prize list.

“This is a fantastic addition to that program,” Dr. Dombroski said.

During the presentation, Reed told the students that several of the books had been autographed by the authors. Some were purchased, others were obtained by the foundation from the authors themselves

After the presentation, Third-Grader Callie Hynds was able to be the first student to get a book, getting the token for her efforts to raise $2,000 for the foundation this past summer.

Reed said the foundation has enough books, close to 500 thanks to the help of community donations, to keep stocking the machine for the next couple of years and that more books will be purchased when necessary.

The machine will be located in the hallway outside of the school gymnasium.

To watch a video of the presentation, click here.