Fill The Shelves

If I had to pick a characteristic I consistently admire in others, it’s the characteristic of taking action to fix what’s broken. Far too many of us — and I’m as guilty as anyone else — see something that’s not right, and opine that “somebody should do something.” That usually results in nothing getting done. (The habit of saying “I’ll do it someday” is a close cousin to this…strangely, that someday never seems to arrive.)

Developing the habit of doing something — taking true action, not just thinking about it or voicing an opinion that somebody else should do something … that is a trait worth admiring. As my main character Will Stark has noted, we should all be the change we want to see in the world. Life, after all, is not a spectator sport. Wishing for something doesn’t make it happen. Action does.

A group of authors found out through various means that there are many school libraries desperately short of books in readable condition. The shelves are empty, and sadly it’s not due to children checking out every copy of every book at all times.

Rather than waiting around for “somebody” to do something, they acted. The result is a website called FillTheShelves.org. This non-profit website enables these schools to build wish lists of desired books for their students, and publicizes those lists so people may voluntarily order the books for the schools through Amazon.com. Any sales commission earned by the site goes directly into books for the participating schools; the owners/operators of the site cover all expenses for its operation.

Want to make the world a better place? Help more kids become readers, and let them become voracious readers by ensuring they have books to read in their school libraries.