Building Literacy: Book Harvest distributes books to Triangle children

Ginger Young tells me she's a mom, first and foremost. And a fixer.

A few years ago, her own children were outgrowing their childhood books. Young knew there were children just a mile from her home without a single book at home.

She knew that countless studies have found that book ownership is critical for young children as they develop language and reading skills and for long-term academic success.

And she knew she could come up with a solution.

"I love to fix problems in the simplest way possible," said Young, who lives in Orange County with her husband. The couple have three children - a high school senior and two young adults.

"I am delighted that in founding Book Harvest I have made my way back to the nonprofit sector," said Young, who received her master's degree of public administration from Harvard University and ran a business specializing in Southern self-taught art for 20 years. "I love being surrounded by innovative nonprofit activists, and I have the best job in the world. I feel more and more every day that, now that my own kids are largely sprung from the nest, this is my life's work. Providing books to kids -- books that they can read again and again and keep forever -- is a privilege and a constant thrill."

I checked in with Young by email to learn more about her amazing work and how all of us can help. Here's a Q&A.

One book drive led to another, word spread like wildfire that every book donated would end up in the hands and home of a local child who needs it, and I knew we were on to something that could become a grassroots movement of goodness.

In less than six years, the Triangle community has donated more than 600,000 new and gently used children’s books to Book Harvest, and local low-income kids have harvested more than 500,000 of these books to take home and keep for their very own. We live in a phenomenally generous community, filled with people with giant hearts and a deep sense of responsibility to their neighbor. That is why Book Harvest has taken off so quickly and so effectively.

We believe that books are an essential part of a healthy childhood, right up there with healthy food, a safe and loving home, and decent health care. But as a society, we have a lot of work to do to live up to that belief. Waaaaay too many kids (and even one is too many!) are growing up in homes without any books. That is simply unacceptable - and eminently fixable.

Embedded in our programs are two priorities: That kids be allowed to select their own books (studies show that the books have ever so much more impact when the kids choose ones that excite them (and it's a whole lot more fun) and that they be able to build home libraries of LOTS of books. Research shows that every book a child owns improves outcomes - you truly can't have too many! That is why, for example, with our Book Babies program, we work with the parents to begin building the home library as soon as the child is born. By the time that child enters kindergarten, she will have a home library of more than 120 books!

And, yes, our biggest event of the year is just five weeks away -- our Dream Big Book Drive on the afternoon of MLK Day. That is the day when we invite our entire community to join us in service by bringing us their book donations and joining us as we celebrate kids and books. It will be an amazing family-friendly party from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 16, at Durham Central Park -- complete with live music, food trucks, the Bouncing Bulldogs, the Scrap Exchange, and mascots aplenty! Last year, we collected more than 28,000 books in a single afternoon -- it is an event to behold. We hope everyone in the community can join us!