As some of you know, we host a summer book drive every year in collaboration with Books for Keeps. We are always so grateful for your willing participation and excited about the books we are able to stack up over the summer. As our inaugural With A Little Help From My Friends feature, here’s a bit more behind the founder of this wonderful organization, our beloved friend Melaney Smith.
Melaney founded Books for Keeps in 2009 after learning that there were young children in her niece’s class not looking forward to summer vacation because they couldn’t afford their own books. With her personal mantras of “I am somebody; I can do something” and “Think Small,” Melaney set out to put as many free books as she could in front of young students. In her first year, she gave away 240 books. Now, 11 years later, Books for Keeps gives away over 100,000 books per year and has provided over half a million books for students since its conception! It is currently serving every elementary school in the Athens area as well as schools in Atlanta and a few rural Georgia communities.
What makes Melaney such an amazing member of the community is her unique philosophy of “thinking small.” (Take a look at her TEDTalk here!) Her generosity and commitment to helping students achieve their full potential has been honored through numerous service awards, including the Bill Clinton Award for Good Works and recognition from L’Oreal Cosmetics (see her with Julianne Moore above!). She is a daily reminder to us here at Holland MacRae that the decisions we believe to be inconsequential can certainly make a big difference, and we are so proud of her. What started as a handful of students in need of books has evolved into a full-fledged mission and a wonderful, inspiring story of impact.
We hope you will continue to follow us and this partnership; in particular, we encourage you to participate in our next book drive! Keep an eye on our Instagram (or sign up for our mailing list) to stay tuned for those announcements in 2021 – and remember, by thinking small, seeing that you and I can make a difference, and with a little help from our friends, we can make our communities brighter and better than ever.
