Good Karma: 425,000 and Counting...

Donate your books (and time) to Read Indeed.

Maria surrounded by her favorite things.

Image credit: Read Indeed

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By: Meghan McAndrews |   February 2011   |  From the print edition

Maria Keller couldn’t imagine a life without books. And when the then-eight-year-old Plymouth resident learned that many kids around the world have never owned a book, she had to do something about it. With the help of her family, the budding bibliophile set a goal of collecting and distributing a million books to needy kids before she turned 18. That was two years ago, and at press time, her nonprofit, Read Indeed, has given away 425,000 books to children’s homes, shelters, hospitals, churches and schools.

“I just can’t imagine not having books in my life so I felt others should have them too,” she says. “Books make you smarter. They take you places you may never go to in real life. I just can’t imagine not having [them], so I feel others should have them too.” Here’s how you can help Maria fulfill her mission of making the world a better place, one book at a time.

• Clean off your shelves and donate books to Read Indeed. You can bring gently used books to any M & I Bank branch or arrange a time to drop them off at their Hopkins warehouse.
• Organize a book drive at your office, church or school. Read Indeed will provide you guidance on how to run it effectively and can even provide you their logo for use on promotional materials.
• Volunteer to help Maria sort, count, package and ship books. Children over the age of eight are welcome to help, too.
• Give them green. Tax-deductible donations help cover the organization’s basic costs, including shipping and warehouse rental.

Read Indeed

readindeed.org / readindeedforkids@yahoo.com