By Neil Sullivan, summer advancement intern
Working at Book Harvest this summer has given me a wealth of experiences and lessons to carry into my final year at college. Some of the most important lessons I have taken away from my time with Book Harvest have been not formally taught, but rather have taken place in the form of people I meet, and the lessons they impart simply through interaction. Surprisingly for me, I have taken a lot away from my office interactions with children younger than me. Many of my interactions with youth reminded me of a simple but powerful idea, that children can not only have a voice but make a difference. Whether it was one particular eleven-year-old whose goal it was to bring Book Harvest a thousand books before the end of summer, or our youngest office worker Toonie, a middle school student who established contacts within new schools, I was shown that the youth of today want to have a stake in creating a brighter future.
Children do not have to be passive recipients of knowledge for the entirety of their education. Book Harvest reminded me that too often we do not give enough credit to children, their ability to understand the world, and inspiring manner in which they eagerly help their peers through programs such as Book Harvest.