Belleville West High School students showed their East Side Pride this past year by simply reading.

The Belleville West English department put their students to the test this past school year by asking the classes of 2014 and 2015 to each read more than one million pages for fun in their free time. Each class reached their goal by the end of the school year, and as a reward, the English department donated 500 new books to students at eight local grade schools.

This will help encourage grade school students to read more often as well.

For more information on the activities at Belleville West High School, visit bths201.org.

If you or someone you know has east side pride — tell us! Y98 and GCS Federal Credit Union want to hear about the good things our Illinois listeners have been doing in the community. Click to find out more and submit an entry.