CHAPARRAL, NM (KTSM) — The Otero County Prison Facility is collected books and is donating them to children at multiple elementary schools.

Prison staff and the El Paso Elks Lodge 187 collected a total of 1,372 books. The goal, to help with literacy in the community.

“It was a great opportunity to support such an important cause,” said Rick Martinez the
Warden at Otero County Prison Facility. “Literacy is key to success in life and it’s a very important focus of what we do at our facility. We must place a high priority on education as it leads to more
opportunities and success in life.”

The books will be donated to Sunrise Elementary School, Desert Trails Elementary School, Yucca Heights Elementary School, and Brilliant Bees Learning Center.

Otero County Prison Facility says the project of collecting books was to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Management & Training Corporation that operates at the prison.

The mission of MTC is to help at-risk men and women though education.