Rotary’s fourth annual book drive brings in over 10,000 books

Northport Rotary, an “energetic, community-minded and fun-loving organization of people” dedicated to service above self, just completed its fourth annual children’s book drive. The group’s efforts to improve childhood literacy has resulted in 35,000 books collected in four years; this year the organization brought in 11,000 books.

This past Sunday, January 8, rotarians loaded onto a truck and delivered 10,000 of the books to Hindi's Libraries, a charity organization conceived in 2018 to honor Dr. Hindi Krinksy, a popular high school English teacher who died from complications from Crohn’s disease.

Since its inception in 2018, Hindi’s Libraries has collected more than 385,000 books, and partnered with more than 700 organizations worldwide spanning across all 50 states and internationally. The group’s “bookworm volunteers” will soon begin sorting and sending books around the country, providing them to children in need who would normally not have access to such literature.

The Northport Rotary also donated $2,000 to Hindi’s Libraries to cover the cost of shipping.

Another 200 books were given by the Northport Rotary to Project TOY, a nonprofit collecting toys for kids; 300 more have been set aside for a new library in Mbitin Primary School in Kenya’s Maasai Mara region.

Highlights from the book drive, which ran in November, include a total of 81 bags of books collected and donated by students and teachers at Northport Middle School, over 1,000 books collected by Julia Cannavale, a Harborfields RYLA senior, and many more grassroots efforts by the community.

In addition to their work with regional and international organizations, much of the rotary’s contributions are directed at efforts in the Northport-East Northport community. Rotarians assist with Ramon’s Place, the Northport High School student-run pantry, contribute to student scholarships, support Students for 60,000, St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the American Legion and more.

Follow the Northport Rotary here.