“I love books! I was that child who would never do her homework because she was reading the new Nancy Drew. I worked in a library through college and spent more time browsing through books than shelving them. And books have been so magical for me. I think everybody deserves to have books in their lives.”
As a lifelong book lover, Dream Big Book Drive committee chair Ann Leininger has no shortage of enthusiasm for her volunteer work at Book Harvest. From her first involvement on the Battle of the Bands committee in the summer and fall of 2015, she has been committed to doing whatever she can to make sure all children are growing up in homes filled with books they love, just as she did. And one of the most practical ways she has done that is to run book drives for the Dream Big Book Drive on MLK Day.
Ann explains that it’s easy to do: she runs her drives in places where she has personal connections, and she takes advantage of the resources provided by Book Harvest to set it all up. She says she has found that most people love books as much as she does, so collecting lots of books is simple. “Anybody that gives books–even if they just give a couple–feels so good about having made a difference,” she explains.
And Ann’s simple book drives have collected a lot of books! Last year, the book drive at her office, AECOM, brought in 364 books; her gym, Millennium Sports Club, brought in 498; and Hollow Rock Racquet and Swim Club brought in 401. That’s over a thousand books just through three book drives in places she already goes regularly–enough books to build home libraries for over 100 children!
We need lots more people to run book drives like Ann’s, and now is the time to do it! With MLK Day just 11 days away, it’s the perfect time to reach out to your coworkers, neighbors, family, and friends and ask them to give their new and gently used children’s books to Book Harvest. Everything you need to get started is in our online book drive toolkit. Start your drive today, and watch the books start rolling in! Then plan to bring your books to Durham Central Park on MLK Day or drop them by our office if you can’t make it that day.
We can’t wait to see how many books you collect!