The Book Lady |
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A Prescription for the Future
After graduation, I began working at Molina Healthcare, which serves low-income families. One of the pediatricians suggested that children’s books be placed in the waiting rooms of the clinics to encourage parents to read to their children, so we organized a book drive and placed books in the waiting rooms of more than 20 doctors' offices. I will never forget the first day the kids discovered the books. They were so excited and begged to take the books home with them, saying they didn't have any books at home. Many said that it would be the first book they would own. My mission had begun. I begged for books from everyone I knew, held book drives, scoured garage sales, and spent hours searching on eBay. As Book Buddies grew, we realized that the neighborhoods surrounding us needed our help, too. Soon we were reaching out to schools, churches, after-school programs, shelters, Boys & Girls Clubs, and YMCAs. I was determined not to let these kids down. We distributed 100,000 books in our first year. Our reputation as a literacy program grew and we moved from a 10- x 20-foot storage unit to a 1,000-square-foot warehouse. I remember thinking that this was an enormous amount of space -- how would I get enough books to fill it? Today, Book Buddies is the cornerstone project of The Molina Foundation, a nonprofit organization that focuses on education, access, and the reduction of disparities in health status. We know that access to books builds literacy and helps individuals not only break the cycle of poverty, but also improve their ability to fight barriers that lead to disparities in health status. Book Buddies now has a full-time staff of five, plus volunteers, and donates an average of 15,000 books a month to populations in need. To date, we have distributed more than 800,000 books to children in all states across U.S. and we’ve built 65+ libraries. Kellie Cairns - The Book Lady |
The Book Lady
At the age of 37, I decided to make a dramatic change in my life. After years as a sign-language interpreter and with only 46 units left to complete my college degree, I decided to go back to school full time.