“I want to share the power of literacy to kids in underprivileged communities. Learning to read and write will allow these kids to have more opportunities in life.”
– Camden McGregor, Eagle Scout Troop 842
A significant project lay ahead for Camden! The Eagle Scout Service Project.
After years of earning merit badges, doing service projects, and learning survival and nature skills, Camden McGregor was now ready for the project to crown all projects…his Eagle Scout Service Project. It took months to research organizations, brainstorm ideas, and finally, to select a project that represents something dear to his own heart. He decided literacy and books was it.
When Camden reached out to Book Drive for Kids, we had just heard about Young Living Stones, a group based in Del Rio, Texas, that was working with both kids and adults on both sides of the border. As the pandemic unfolded, Young Living Stones started supporting area teachers who were offering tutoring programs as schools nearly halted for many families, exacerbating the already low education levels and needs for family income. To build reading skills, children must have books! Book Drive for Kids immediately sent books, both in Spanish and English, to support these efforts and we connected Camden with Young Living Stones to provide additional help.
Camden soon got to work. He led several volunteer teams in fundraising via community car wash, building four bookshelves for the tutoring program, and conducting a month-long book drive. He was able to donate $550 for new books and 1,000 gently used books to fill those shelves. As Providence would have it, Shon Young from Young Living Stones was in Dallas for an event just one week after Camden finished his project so the gift presentation was in-person.
When Camden presented his gifts to Shon, he inspired others at the event to give an additional $500 for new books in Spanish. You can imagine the excitement for all of us at Book Drive for Kids and Young Living Stones as these books travel to the border so that these children will “have more opportunities in life” just as Camden hoped.
You may not have an Eagle Project to complete, but you can get involved, too.
Volunteer or Donate today!
#BetterTogether #KidsHelpingKids #BookDriveforKids
#ReadingRocks #LiteracyMatters