1-28-2014
Freedom begins in the mind, and one
13-year-old girl aims to liberate children the world over with a book campaign
to advocate world literacy.
When she was only 8, Maria Keller
took it upon herself to begin collecting books for kids. She founded her own
nonprofit, Read Indeed, and this month surpassed her goal of sending over a
million books to children in various parts of the globe.
The Minneapolis 8th-grader estimates she is bringing in anywhere from 10,000 to 15,000 books a month, mostly from Minnesota, but from other states as well.
The Minneapolis 8th-grader estimates she is bringing in anywhere from 10,000 to 15,000 books a month, mostly from Minnesota, but from other states as well.
For Maria, the initiative began with
a personal love of books and a desire for all children to have the choice to
share in her fancy. According to the World Literacy Foundation, one in five adults cannot read or write, 57 million
primary aged children are not in school, and 123 million young people are
unable to read or write.
