One of our first IMPACT blogs highlighted a Mom’s perspective on her involvement with us and our mission.  This month, we’d like to share another piece of our story – a teen’s perspective on his ability to help close the gap in access to books among kids in New Jersey.  Steffen Kulp, a high school student in North Jersey, decided to do a book drive as part of his efforts to become an Eagle Scout.  Below, he shares the IMPACT on him of collecting, sorting and delivering over 5,000 books to us for low-income kids in New Jersey!

 

Hi, my name is Steffen Kulp and I am an Eagle Scout with Troop 17 in Short Hills. I first found out about Bridge of Books when I was researching for my Eagle Scout Project in the fall of 2015. I wanted to do something that involved reading, since I love reading so much. When I came upon the Bridge of Books Foundation website, I thought it would be great to help the group. I saw that by helping, I could hopefully spread literacy to many children around New Jersey who did not have the opportunity to have their own books.

 

The staff at Bridge of Books was very helpful in getting me started on my book drive, providing me with suggestions and inspiration to collect as many books as I could. With the help of my family, friends and the community, I was able to collect more than 5,000 books for the foundation. The books covered all children’s age groups, and many were in great condition. I was pleasantly surprised at the support, and pleased that I would be able to provide so many books to underprivileged children around New Jersey.

 

With the help of my Troop, we were able to quickly sort the books and get them down to Bridge of Books before Christmas. Bridge of Books founder Abby Daly was there herself, along with other staff, to help unpack the books on delivery day. I left that day very happy with the success of the book drive, and even happier when I saw her posting on Instagram of our work. I was thrilled to hear that all the donated books were already in the hands of New Jersey kids by the beginning of January. What a great holiday gift!

 

Seeing the impact of the book drive on the kids in New Jersey, I hope that more Scouts and others can take action and help those less fortunate than themselves. I sincerely thank everyone who helped the book drive be a great success, and Bridge of Books for allowing me to spread the joy of literacy.