In an effort to bring books to where they’re needed most, two Massachusetts women got creative.
Inside Hygge House Books in Westborough, Massachusetts, an idea bound to make a difference was born out of a story in need of a different ending.
"Just the thought of helping kids. I mean, that is where it starts," said Sandy Burgers of Changemakers Rotary Club of Central Massachusetts. "What is more important to people than a child reading?"
The first chapter started out small, as they often do: A free book library attached to the Woo Fridge, a nonprofit that feeds families in need in Worcester.
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From there, though, came the revelation that Worcester students were hungry for books, too. Several public elementary schools in Worcester don't have libraries.
"Let's get the community together and let's go in, and help the children learn the love of literacy," Burgers said.
Burgers teamed up with Beth Orsini of Hygge House Books, putting together a team of volunteers, and securing the necessary funding, to build a book nook inside Vernon Hill Elementary School in Worcester, providing students with books and a place to connect.
"Working with this school has been a game-changer," Orsini said.
The first book nook is already a hit, and more are planned.
"The Worcester Public Schools is grateful for the dedicated volunteers at the Vernon Hill School who are expanding literary opportunities for our scholars," Dan O'Brien, the district's chief communications officer, said in a statement. "WPS has established ambitious reading improvement goals for the current school year as a core strategy to improve student outcomes."
The last chapter is far from being written, a story of giving back worthy of any best sellers list.
"If we work together and do it together, it can happy pretty quickly and pretty easily," Orsini said. "I think literacy is one of the keys to success."
