The votes are in! World Book Night 2012 was a huge success and so much so that it took me all of a week later to write about it.
When I reviewed some of the stories of other givers across the world I realized that this project has an even greater impact on the community than our public libraries. Why and How so? Because volunteers made a pact of enthusiasm with mobility and that alone is what I believe reached the millions who received free books that night. Not only did most of them get the gift of a free book, they got the opportunity to be spoken to with dignity, respect and belief that they were in fact about to change the course of their lives with this this project, word by word. I can personally say that as I handed over my selection, Dr. Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, I felt reassured that my commitment to literacy was one that was needed and appreciated. I felt good about being a part of a movement that is dedicated to perseverance of all lifeforms. An honest and integral movement. A movement for righteousness.
As I witnessed the buzz die down last Tuesday morning, I couldn’t help think about what it meant for the millions of recipients who would read their gift and have nothing else to read. This disturbed me in a way but resurfaced as a comfort several seconds later. That comfort was ignited by remembering that Imagiread is committed to literacy everyday and whether that is with free books being supported by other causes/means that I would continue to work on and thru ways to get people, most particularly families, involved in a lifelong love of literacy. It really and truly is the IMAGIREAD WAY!
In the coming weeks I will change some of my programming to be able to do something of the same magnitude, just smaller scale, every month. I truly believe that books give hope and I am excited about the opportunity to assure hope is instilled
little by little and page by page.
April 30, 2012
