Furniture store helps community with book donations, little libraries

It isn't unusual for a company to donate some books to celebrate an accomplishment and to give back to the community. When Conn's, a Houston-based furniture and specialty home goods retailer, opened its 100th store, it donated 1,000 books and five little libraries to the community near its new store, Conn's HomePlus at 2201 Civic Center Drive in North Las Vegas.

"We donated 1,000 books to Quannah McCall Elementary School along with what we call Little Free Libraries," said Conn's Chief Executive Officer Norm Miller. "We put the Little Free Libraries outside the school and in the neighborhood, too. They look like little birdhouses."

The company partnered with First Book, a nonprofit literacy advocacy group, on the project. Conn's puts the libraries up and then leaves it to the kids to take ownership of them, organizing them and keeping them clean.

"People can drop books off or take them out on an honor system," Miller said. "We do this as part of our concierge program to promote reading at the school and the surrounding community."

The 125-year-old company is in a growth period, with 15 stores opening in 2015 and 25 projected to open in 2016. The company already had one store in the east Las Vegas Valley at 3185 E. Tropicana Ave. and is set to open a third in March. It isn't just the store that has had a dramatic change for the better, but the CEO also.

"I was one of seven kids growing up," Miller said. "We went to the library every week. I was really excited to talk to 60 third-graders when we gave out the books and tell them why it was so important to read, not just from an educational and literary standpoint, but as a lifelong skill. You learn about life. You educate yourself. You grow."

Miller spoke in the school's library in a new reading nook with furniture donated from the new store.

"We are incredibly grateful of the generosity of Conn's as a new retailer in our community," said Ana DeBeauvernet, principal of McCall Elementary School, 800 Carey Ave. "Their donation to our school will help our students discover the value and opportunity that comes with opening up a book."

— To reach East Valley View reporter F. Andrew Taylor, email ataylor@viewnews.com or call 702-380-4532.