Six-year-old Blake Ansari has learned a lot about the problems facing poor families and kids from his dad, Nuri Ansari, who works with the homeless. So when he heard that there are about 22,000 homeless kids in New York City (according to the New York Times), he told his mom, Starita Ansari, “That means they don’t have a library,” Sarah Goodyear writes for Atlantic Cities.
Blake began collecting books and gathered 600 volumes, which he donated to a PATH (Prevention, Assistance, and Temporary Housing) shelter in the Bronx. Counselors at PATH plan to give the books to homeless children who come to stay there, and the kids will be able to keep the books.
Starita told Goodyear she hopes Blake’s book quest raises awareness of the problem of homeless children throughout the United States, who numbered 1,168,354 in the U.S. Department of Education’s 2013 study. “When you listen to the community, learn from the community, and help the community, you connect to your best self,” Starita said.
As for Blake, he’s got even bigger plans: He now wants to build a library for homeless kids. If he’s accomplishing all this in first grade, we can’t wait to see what he does next year in second grade.
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