For 10-year-old Aarvi Vakharia, reading isn’t just a hobby; it’s one of her passions. When she’s not studying at Meadow Glens Elementary School or playing tennis, she can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
“I like exploring the magic of reading because you get transported to a whole different world in your bed. And you can explore so many different novels [and] chapter books. It’s really amazing,” said Vakharia.
The passion is something that runs in the family, with both her parents being avid readers and also volunteers at Bernie’s Book Bank in Lake Bluff, an organization that works to provide books to low-income children in Chicago and neighboring suburbs.
10-year-old receives hundreds of donations during book drive
Hearing about their mission, the Naperville fifth grader was inspired to hold a book drive to support them and spread her love of reading to others.
“Over there, people can donate books to underprivileged Chicago kids, where one book is for every 300 kids. And those are really low numbers. And I was shocked by this, and I wanted to increase those numbers,” she said.
For three days, she had dozens of donations dropped off at her home, from people in and around her neighborhood, many of them part of the Facebook group “Buy Nothing Naperville.” By the end, she’d received 1,660 books, filling over 20 boxes.
“These 1,660 books will help around 207 kids, and each kid will get around eight books,” said Vakharia.
Vakharia hopes to inspire other kids
The books are expected to be picked up next week and transported to Bernie’s, where they will go on to provide new adventures for young readers.
Vakharia said she hopes other kids experience the joys a good book can bring.
“I hope that these books make them passionate learners, make them passionate to read, and I hope me doing this book drive inspires young kids and tells them that no matter how old you are, you can also make a difference if you dream,” said Vakharia.
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