In
this era of connectivity and globalization, it’s pretty easy to get involved.
Organizations, tailored to your every passion, can respond to emails and help
you begin working in a heartbeat. School organizations fight for causes
everywhere from Albania to Zimbabwe, drawing upon vast confederacies of the
like-minded to actualize positive change in society. Even entirely local
charities can form a facebook page to coordinate efforts with the community at
large, providing unprecedented access to the resources needed to do good. Given
all these ways to become a part of something else, I was admittedly intimidated
when, as the finale to the Diller Teen Fellowship, I was challenged to create
and execute a project entirely of my own design. How could I, a high schooler,
dive into the world of social activism without so much as a set of guidelines?
Student or not, that’s exactly what I did--creating the Book-Pocalypse, as I
called it, was one of the most rewarding and empowering experiences of my high
school career.
My
fellow Diller teens and I had only just returned from a three-week seminar in
Israel and, still vividly recalling our experience abroad, it came time to
design our community service initiatives. We were encouraged to follow our
passions and, finding literature foremost on my list of interests, I decided to
work with my regional library. The idea was simple: With the help of my
regional library, I would create an age-targeted book fair, designed to promote
interesting books to kids who, busy with English classes and homework, have
long since forgotten that interesting books existed. To this end, I found the
Director of Teen Activity for the Rincon Library and, that very day, formalized
the dates of the event. Over the following two months, I secured books for
teens to freely take home after each event, purchased snacks, and designed a
book list. I even came up with a name: “Book-Pocalypse! (not): Why Reading’s
Not the End of the World.”
Despite
all of my plans, though, and despite the numerous weeks that had gone into its
preparation, I still wasn’t sure how successful the event would be. I was
working with middle-to-high schoolers, after all--and if there’s any group
that’s harder to hook on to literature, its middle-to-high schoolers. Would a
project, entirely engineered by a senior high schooler, have a chance of
success?
I needn’t have worried. By the end of the event, we had sent over 64 students on their way with a brand new book in hand, and used the entirety of our supplies. I was overwhelmed. Despite my age, despite my inexperience, I had created something wonderful, and helped four dozen students rediscover their love for reading. I didn’t need NGO status or a professional team, I learned, to make a change for the better. The potential was within me the whole time.
- Noah Feiwell Cohort 16
