On my first visit to Bishop Gibbons, I was asked if it was possible to raise some money to buy new books for the school library, which was falling out of relevance because there were few contemporary titles.

That is no longer the case.

I estimated that it would cost $5,000 at least to replenish the library. Given the up-and-down news of the economy, I worried about our ability to raise that kind of money quickly.

I was astonished to get a message from Alys Culhane, a blog reader and Army Of Good admirer who lives in Palmer, Alaska, and who has founded the Bright Lights Book Project.

She recycles books and gets them to those who need and want them.

She said, ” don’t worry about it; I’ll get the books and ship them at no charge.” And that’s what she did.

She got the library the books the school’s teachers asked for and did more.

She sent me books for the Mansion residents and read that I was about to raise money for a library for Sue Silverstein’s art room.

Don’t bother, she said again, I’ll do it, and today, the books arrived.

Alys lives in Alaska and loves to hike and ride horses there, is her. She did it again. I never imagined all this support coming from a tiny town in Alaska.

Alys has saved us a fortune at the Army of Good, enriched the lives of countless students and residents at the Mansion, and put her money where her mouth is.

 

 

She is building Bright Lights by gathering volunteers who scour Alaska’s towns, homes, and libraries (and recycling stations) for discarded, forgotten, or hidden-away books. It turns out there are plenty.

Most of them, she says, are brand new, but everyone is checked for cleanliness and cleaned.

I can’t thank Alys enough. She is one of the best people and honestly and sincerely cares about children and people who need help.

Sue Silverstein is thrilled with these books; she says she would never have had the budget to buy books like these. We would and could have helped, but the selection and quality of these books from Alaska are fantastic.

Sue has been learning space in the art room to make room for them. “These books are just wonderful,” she said. “The kids can read them, I don’t, and I can teach from them.”

Students are already asking to read them.

When I mentioned two weeks ago that Peggie Osgood was running out of books at the Mansion, Alys messaged me immediately. They are on the way.

We can put these savings to good by helping all kinds of people, from the Mansion to Bishop Gibbons. I don’t have words, Alys.

I will never be able to thank you enough, Alys; I hope we will meet one day.