Promoting Literacy by Redistributing 10,000 Books to Those Who Need them Most

For my Girl Scout Gold Award Project I promoted literacy by redistibuting 10,000 books to those who needed them most. Among the 27 programs I delivered books to: 2,700 books went to Head Start, 900 books to a school that serves homeless families, 900 books to Boys and Girls Club of America, 400 books to a grassroots program that works with parenting and pregnant teens, and 900 books to ESL programs (English as a Second Language). I started three libraries, including a complete library with 900 books at a new Boys Town shelter, the Lennar Center in Compton, California, for abused and abandoned teenage girls that have struggled to make it in foster care, and a library for Opportunities for Learning, a program that helps high school drop outs earn their GED. The project promoted literacy for every age group including disabled vets at the Long Beach VA hospital, inmates and parolees through the Friends Outside program, and three senior centers. Books were selected for special interest groups, such as recovery books for Family Services, visually stimulating books for the hearing impaired at the John Tracy Clinic, manipulative books for the developmentally disabled at the Ability First, and parenting and adoption books for Aspira, a program that helps foster kids get adopted. 10,000 books touched 10,000 lives. I have a few more donations coming in and expect the project will total 11,000.