I'm proud to say that with the old man's help, he and I have collected 10,000 books (to be exact, 10,488) for Spread the Word Nevada: Kids to Kids, the children's literacy program here in Las Vegas.
This little quest began a few months into volunteering with this group that gives books to at-risk children in local schools (among other things). I thought it would be fun to try and collect and donate 1,000 books, a total that seemed a bit unrealistic at the time. I enlisted the help of my dad because he hits yard sales just about every weekend, and I figured I'd just throw him a few bucks each week, and he could do the hard part, finding and acquiring the books.
As time went by, we hit our 1,000 book goal, and I asked the folks at Kids to Kids what the all-time donation record had been. At the time, it was about 1,200, I think. A Boy Scout had done a book drive or something. Well, it sounded like he needed beating, so that's what we did. We passed his record, and just kept on going.
After we hit 5,000 books in June of 2007 (about the time that photo was taken, I think), we started getting smarter about our collections. Dad carries Kids to Kids brochures in his car, and he schmoozes folks at rummage sales and estate sales and yard sales, and often gets books donated for free. I've gotten into the habit of raiding Salvation Army thrift stores in our area, often getting hundreds of books at a time, often for 10 cents each.
Dad is definitely not into recognition. It's just not his thing. But our reaching 10,000 books (a goal I set that he thought was a bit silly...he just wants to help kids) warrants a public thank you.
We hit 10,000 books back on April 16, and I baked Dad a cake, mostly because he just hates it when people make a fuss. He's just collecting books for kids, mostly because I asked him to.
So, thanks, Dad. It's been a blast, and I can't wait to hit that next 10,000 and beyond. Oh, and I love you, Dad. Mostly because saying it is kind of making a fuss.
1 comment:
Mazel tov!
Post a Comment