Looking Forward
Ginger Young, Book Harvest Founder and Executive Director
Three years ago this month, I visited a friend whose young son had no books at home. That troubled me deeply — and it got me thinking.
What if I could share the bounty on my own family’s bookshelves with families whose kids did not have books? And what if other families fortunate to have books at home could do the same? It seemed simple, direct, doable.
I decided to crowdsource my idea, to see if it would gain traction. The response, almost from the first day, overwhelmed me. Three years and 135 book drives later, this idea is thriving!
Families just like mine, with books to share, have donated a stunning 200,000 books.
Children have harvested more than 165,000 of these books to take home and keep for their very own.
In a typical week, children harvest more than 1200 books — fueled by an army of volunteers, book donors, and financial supporters passionate about ensuring that all children in our community can grow up in homes where books are plentiful.
Together, we’ve done so much. But there is much, much more to be done, to ensure that every child in our community grows up with an abundance of books at home. I cannot wait to continue our work in 2014 and beyond!