Take a Book, Leave a Book, Change a Life

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Mallory Fischer. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

Seventeen-year-old Mallory Fischer has always been fond of reading, so when she realized that not everyone had the same access to books, she dedicated her effort to changing that. This passion for connecting kids with books motivated her to start Book Buddies for Kids in 2021.

Now, a rising high school senior, she has collected around 3,000 books through drives and individual donations and distributed them across Massachusetts, Missouri and California. She makes a particular effort to search for and feature books with diverse characters so all readers can experience stories about people who look like them.

Mallory has filled over 20 free little libraries with books for both kids and young adults and is working on setting up more in underserved areas. Her classmates also enjoy the opportunity to earn service hours by dropping off books and refilling libraries. Any overflow is delivered to The Global Book Exchange, an organization that gets books to children in need and promotes literacy.

What inspires you to volunteer?

I’ve grown up with the privilege of being able to help other people, and the idea that helping people is a key part of life. I’m a volunteer and ambassador for Project Glimmer, an organization that helps underserved girls nationwide get makeup and access to things that can boost their confidence. And I volunteer with my school. It’s a great thing to do. Everybody should help their community in one way or another.

What inspired you to get started with this initiative?

I started Book Buddies my freshman year. I’ve always had a passion for reading, and I noticed that the free little libraries I came into contact with had few children’s books in them. This was especially heartbreaking when I read how few children in underserved communities had access to books in their homes, let alone children’s books. A lot of kids don’t have the same opportunities, so I wanted to address that.

It started out with me and my friend, but when she started rugby, I took over. There’s a school club, too, which allows me to do drives there and recruit classmates to ask their families for books. I run all of the accounts and worked on the website with a friend of mine. We translated it into Spanish, too. But it’s usually just me dragging my little brother along from time to time.

Tell us about your volunteer role with Book Buddies for Kids.

We’ve been raising money over the years, and my next goal is to plant eight to 10 little free libraries around the Bay Area, specifically in San Rafael. Public libraries are a little sparser there; books aren’t as accessible. I’m also trying to put one in St. Louis at the Contemporary Art Museum, especially because of the tornado that was there recently. Many people lost a lot.

I recently saw the statistic that 92% of kids say they read two times more often when there is a little free library in their community. Convenience is a huge part of accessibility. I’ve been wanting to put in more, but they’re expensive, especially if you want one of the official ones with the charter label.

My family converted a newspaper vending machine into a little library that sits outside my house. It’s spraypainted bright red, and I probably replace four or five books every week.

Tell us about your collection events.

I work with my middle school a lot and the general community of Marin County. There’s a lot of money there, and a lot of people have books sitting in their houses. In eighth grade, through the local public middle school and my middle school, I organized a massive book drive and got those school libraries to donate as well.

I’ve held two or three drives at my middle school, and I’ve worked with the community and parents who contact me. Not only is it helping people declutter, but it’s giving the books a second opportunity to be appreciated. Our online presence helps us collect books throughout the year as well.

What kinds of things do you do for fundraising?

I’ve done some bake sales at school. You can’t collect large amounts of money if you’re not a 501(c)3, and becoming one is difficult. I hope to do that one day.

What are your other long-term plans or goals for the organization?

I’m hoping to do more fundraisers so that I can put down as many little free libraries as possible. I’d love to eventually collaborate with the actual Little Free Library Organization. I’d also like to expand more nationally, including wherever I go to college. A big part of sustaining this is refilling libraries, which is why it’s great to go to neighborhoods with kids, where there’s an active fluctuation of books and people refilling them.

What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?

I’ve learned a lot about organization and time management. A really big part of this was learning how to manage emails and communicate with book centers, how and what I was going to drop off, and how I could run drives at my school and get sufficient publicity. My mission to continuing the organization has been really satisfying but my dedication is also something that I’ve grown as a skill over time.

How can people address children’s literacy in their own areas?

There’s an app that maps the closest little free libraries. If they’re registered with Little Free Library, they’ll have the locations. That’s one way to help in your community; go out and do that. Another thing we’ve been trying to work on is reading to little kids in the area. You can usually find those opportunities at public libraries.

What do you want people to learn from your story?

I think the takeaway is to appreciate the things you have and realize how you can help other people, even in little ways.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Mallory? Find local volunteer opportunities.