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“One night his daughter said she was tired
of the same old story and wanted him to
read another book,” Lindenberg explains.
room, and started to cry. You see, he
couldn’t read. It’s not about intelligence. He
was bright and ran a successful business,
but he never learned to read. He is one
of 37 million adults that are functionally
illiterate in this country, and we need to do
something about that.”
For the Love of Literacy
When Lindenberg and his wife Susan
moved to Florida about 12 years ago, he
was on a mission to improve literacy in his
new hometown. He became a member of
the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch, an
education reporter on WSLR, and a board
member and later President of the Literacy
Council of Sarasota. “We were helping
adults learn to read and that was fantastic,”
Lindenberg says. “But my ultimate goal was
to continue to work with young children.”
Seven years ago, he convinced the Rotary
Club Board to invest in the Books For
two Rotarians, Lindenberg launched the
volunteers. “Those five people visited
distributed about 500 books that school
year,” he recalls.
Since then, the organization has grown
by leaps and bounds. “This school year,
we have 125 volunteers going into nine
second, and third grade children,” remarks
Lindenberg. “And we will be distributing
more than 17,000 books.”
Last April, Books For Kids surpassed
the 50,000-book distribution mark
and is now well on its way to 100,000
books distributed. Lindenberg says
the organization’s success wouldn’t be
possible without the dedicated volunteers
who take time to visit schools, read to
children, and distribute books.
“Our volunteers come from all walks
of life,” he explains. “They are doctors,
dentists, bankers, retirees. When they are
done discussing a book with the children,
they also will talk about themselves, their
professions, and what these students can
achieve in the future.”
that give their employees release time so
they can participate in the Books For Kids
Program during work hours.
The Power of Reading
Books For Kids isn’t just about handing out
books. It’s about changing lives.
“We are trying to help these young
children in every possible way,” explains
Lindenberg. “We are helping with reading
and listening comprehension skills as
each volunteer reads special read-aloud
books, as well as critical thinking, character
development, and we even bring in
some career education. Then when the
a gift: A gift that we take for granted, that
is in our homes but not necessarily in their
homes—and that’s a book.”
Each time a volunteer visits a class, they
give out a variety of books geared to the
reading and interest levels of students. But
they are giving these children so much
more than a paperback. “We are also
transferring the love of reading and the love
of books from the volunteer to the child,”
Lindenberg adds. “That is special—and
these volunteers show these children that
they really care about them.”