OCEANSIDE — If you had stopped by the Starbucks Coffee Shop at 603 W. Mission Ave. at around 5 p.m. Feb. 10, you may have found yourself being contacted by the police as well.
That’s because Oceanside Police Officer Matt Lyons was reading stories to children and helping out, as part of a book drive project organized by Starbuck’s employee Nicole McNamara. McNamara came up with the idea of a book drive to assist and donate to the Oceanside and Vista school districts and got support from her employer.
A small group of children and family members showed up for the event as Officer Lyons and other volunteers read to them. Some just stopped to listen as they waited for their coffee orders to be filled and were able to make donations.
Officer Lyons, a 30-year veteran to law enforcement which includes 10 years with the Oceanside Police Department, volunteered to assist in the event.
“The children seemed to enjoy themselves,” Lyons said. “It was nice to have the interactions with them and the public, in a more relaxed setting than I am usually accustomed to. Many times the public only see the police when there is an emergency and this was a nice change.”
People can continue to donate books at the Mission Avenue Starbucks for four more weeks. For more information concerning book donations, contact McNamara via e-mail at [email protected]

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