Greetings!   

"...From emphasis on pronunciation to inquisitive questions as to how can a dog be Blue (Blues Clues, Nickelodeon book), an inseparable team emerges that is simply relentless in this noble quest for wisdom."

"The library received enormous attention from the children.  Their excitement and joy seemed to have no boundaries. The elated, excited and energetic enthusiasts (children) were keen to occupy the room since the news of the inauguration broke in the village... I did a reading session with a group of 25 - 30 kids.  It was a story-telling book called 'The Puppy Who Wanted A Boy'.  I simply loved it when I found myself surrounded by a crowd of children so engrossed in the story.  It was an exhilarating experience!" 

These reflections expressed so well by volunteers from our library projects are really what inspires us to keep the Bookwallah vision alive. Bookwallah has been able to share the gift of imagination with over 400 children who live in orphanages & children's homes and 700 local community children permitted to access select orphanage libraries.  We transformed spaces and built seven beautiful Bookwallah libraries of imagination in India and Indonesia where resources and interiors of this type are scarce and uncommon, inspiring these children who have endured incredible hardship to share in the joy of reading.              

Imtech Solution

Albany Carroll Arts Building

BDS Chicago

JNE Express Across Nations

Loeb 

Thrift Recycling Management 

Whirli-Gig Brand Design  

Visit our Partner page for details.  

Purchase A Nutty Nutcracker Christmas by award winning author G. Riley Mills.  $20.  100% for Bookwallah.  

bookwallah transforms lives- early success

Siddharth Kurkure

It is always an honor to have kids like Siddharth Kurkure volunteer their time and services to help Bookwallah.  Siddharth is a 15 year-old sophomore at Pinewood School in Los Altos Hills, California.  Siddaharth has done a tremendous job in reaching out to local bookstores and publishers for donations.  He writes, "In my spare time, I enjoy helping out in local and global communities....My main goal is to help educate children in India deprived of education. These are typically kids who live in extreme poverty or have no parents and live in orphanages."   

Gaurav Malhotra

In the field of work we do, we find there are some people who talk and other people that do.  Gaurav Malhotra is a person who took action.  He really came through when Bookwallah needed an individual to help jumpstart, manage, and implement the SOS Children's Village project.  With almost a superhuman effort, Gaurav was able to get the job done.  The beautiful library at SOS Children's Village was successfully launched and will now be a source of inspiration for over 200 children from the home and an additional 200 children from the local community.  Gaurav's background includes Barclays India.  

Other special mentions:  Deepa Bagal and Women In Nielsen, Sunita Casula for connecting us to Clive & Prasad, and Susan Costin for organizing and creating beautiful quilts to be used in our libraries of imagination.  

Eric G. Grossman is a partner at the law firm of Bailey Borlack Nadelhoffer LLC with a practice focused on commercial real estate and business transactions, including formation, acquisitions and divestitures, shareholder and employee relations, and information technology. Eric currently also serves as Board Chair for Access Living, a disability rights advocacy organization.

Dr. Bren Ortega Murphy has been a faculty member in Communication Studies at Loyola University Chicago since 1984.  Dr. Murphy's research areas and books cover gender representation in popular culture, gender socialization, the glass ceiling phenomena, communication ethics, and service learning. We are proud to say that recently Dr. Murphy released a documentary titled "Nuns in Pop Culture" with voice over by Oscar-Winner Susan Sarandon.  Dr. Murphy earned her Ph.D. in Communication Studies from Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill.   

Dwi Sari has been instrumental in helping the Bookwallah Organization enter the Indonesia market. She graduated from TRISAKTI University in Jakarta and holds an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management in Chicago. She has been actively involved in Asian-American Coalition in Chicago serving in a Public Relations & Media role. Dwi currently works at CTA and also is Founder of U.S. start-up Kencana Sari - importer of exclusive, high-end fashion, furnishings manufactured in Indonesia combining traditional elements with modern lifestyle and design.  

Mark Pickett is currenty CEO of Nail Your Mortgage. Prior to founding Nail Your Mortgage, Mark had deep roots in the brokerage business. After serving in Somalia as a Captain in the U.S. Marine Corps, Mark worked with Qwest Communications, Motorola, KPMG Consulting on a wide array of software implementation projects from Rio de Janeiro to Lagos, and from banking to oil production. Mark founded OmTelligence, a consulting firm specializing in business and system strategy; mortgage banks and lenders were a special focus. In addition to his professional achievements, Mark has served on a Presidential National Finance Committee, volunteered at Ground Zero, been a volunteer firefighter, and is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African Art and the Montgomery County (MD) Chamber of Commerce.

Eugene Breger serves as Sales Director for a Chicago area Oracle business partner and leverages more than 20 years of progressively responsible business development activity. He has partnered with executives, directors and managers of companies in United States and globally - both in the for profit and not-for-profit sectors - to help them successfully manage, enhance and monitor the growth and performance of their organizations. Eugene serves as voluntary Vice-Chairman of the international Oracle Applications User Group Order Management/Advanced Pricing Special Interest Group and is actively involved with his synagogue. Eugene earned an M.B.A. in Finance and Marketing from the University of Chicago.

Chetan currently serves as Sr. Vice President of Global Marketing and Product Strategy for CCC Information Services in Chicago, Illinois U.S.A. He is a 17- year veteran of the financial services, consulting, and software industry and is acknowledged as a visionary, motivational, and strategic leader.  Chetan and his wife's support of Bookwallah during the most critical stage- start-up- has allowed Bookwallah to continue to pursue its programs. Chetan earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical and biomedical engineering in 1994 from Duke University and is a member of the Duke Alumni Association.

Tim Padgett is the President and CEO of Pepper Group, a marketing communications firm he founded in 1994. The Pepper Group has won numerous awards for design and campaign development and has been named one of the top B2B agencies in the US by B-to-B Magazine in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Tim also is the founder and CEO of Teer1, a dynamic software platform designed to help companies to encourage, manage and leverage employee volunteering programs. Tim has deep networks, including memberships in national organizations: Entrepreneurs Organization, Young Presidents Organization, American Marketing Association and the Society for Marketing Professional Services.

Joel Massel is the Founder of Creative Management Services, a management consulting firm providing comprehensive services to charitable organizations, professional societies, and other not-for-profit organizations. Mr. Massel speaks nationally on a wide range of non-profit and healthcare issues, focusing on building and maintaining sustainable non-profit organizations. Over the last ten years, his clients have included the Chicago Asthma Consortium, LUNGevity Foundation, College Bound, Inc, and Institute of Medicine of Chicago. Mr. Massel majored in Biology at University of Illinois, Urbana, where he received his undergraduate degree with distinction. He received his Juris Doctorate at Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago-Kent College of Law.