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Steven Wolf, of Houston, Texas, is a high school student and board member of Kids That Do Good. Steven recently talked with Kids That Do Good about organizing an effort to collect books to help establish community libraries in Tanzania and Malawi.
TELL US ABOUT THE GOOD STEWARD GLOBAL INITIATIVE
Good Steward Global Initiative’s goal is to set up libraries for the people in Malawi because many of them can’t afford books. I began my participation in this project around June of 2015. People within the cities of Houston and Bellaire got involved after I organized collection boxes in multiple schools and a medical clinic, as well as collecting books from neighbors.
WHAT GAVE YOU THE IDEA?
I have a strong passion for reading. One day, I saw online that there was an organization designed to help people who are less fortunate to read. I wanted to help the people in Malawi share the pleasure that I receive from reading books.
WHAT CHALLENGES DID YOU RUN INTO?
Some of the challenges that I faced were spreading the word that I needed people to donate books, making people in my community aware that the people in Malawi are less fortunate than we are, and organizing all of the books.
HOW DO YOU MEASURE THE IMPACT YOU’VE MADE?
I collected a total of 1,200 books. In addition, this project made people more aware that not everyone has the luxuries that we take for granted everyday, such as books. The books that I collected and then shipped to Malawi with my bar mitzvah money has made a large impact on their lives. It’s changed their lives by providing them with new learning, pleasurable, and entertaining books.
HOW HAS YOUR PROJECT GROWN?
This book collecting project has encouraged others to participate in continuing Good Steward Global Initiative’s goal of creating many libraries in Malawi.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING NEXT?
For many years, I have been interested in medicine. I think that in the near future I will want to volunteer for local hospitals and clinics to do small jobs that could be a big help.
WHAT DO YOU GET OUT OF HELPING OTHERS?
Helping others gives me something priceless. I feel satisfied after volunteering my time knowing that I made a difference, I did something good, and left a mark for others to see.
WHAT IS YOUR MESSAGE TO OTHER KIDS WHO WANT TO DO SOMETHING GOOD?
Put your mind to it and accomplish your goal. Make a difference in the world for good. What you do doesn’t have to be small or big, but you should leave it different. As Ray Bradbury (the writer of Fahrenheit 451) once said, “It doesn’t matter what you do, so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that’s like you after you take your hands away. The difference between the man who just cuts lawns and a real gardener is in the touching. The lawn-cutter might just as well not have been there at all; the gardener will be there a lifetime.”
