Recently, when I decided to retire, family and friends asked me what I was going to do with my free time. I responded that, among other things, I wanted to do something to help kids learn to read. Not a surprising response, given my love of reading. But, there was more to it. I was retiring at a time when a staggering number of kids were failing to read proficiently by the third grade. I wanted to do something to help reverse that trend. 

Last December I took a step in the right direction when I volunteered at the local Barnes and Noble store and gift-wrapped purchases for tips to benefit Book Trust. As I learned more about the organization, I recognized the advantages of its innovative and far-reaching approach to help address the increasingly urgent problem of childhood illiteracy, especially among children from low-income households. I knew it was where I wanted to volunteer and, fortunately, there was a place for me.

I can best describe my volunteer experience as one "aha" moment after another. Like when I volunteered at a book distribution and felt the palpable joy and excitement of 1st graders eagerly waiting to receive and read the books they had ordered. And, when I saw kids' eyes light up, almost in disbelief, at a Project Homeless event, when they found out they really could choose a book and take it home, free. And, doing office work, entering survey data and scanning kids' thank you letters--letters that expressed, in the kids' own words, a new-found confidence and hope for their future. Comments like, "I love Book Trust because now I read to my family and friends and everyone I can." And, "I will always, always, always read books, maybe even in college."