SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Ellie Park discovered her passion for books early in life, as a high school junior, and wants to share them with the world.
"I just figured if we're so abundant with books over here, why not just be able to spread that to them?" the Scottsdale student asked rhetorically.
Park has been traveling to the Navajo Nation on Christian mission trips and has gotten to know some of its people.
"Some of the kids just told me that they have maybe not as many books as we do in some other neighborhoods. That's kind of what initially sparked it," said Park.
Park created the 'Books for All Foundation' to collect book donations from her community and bring them to areas with limited access to them. Her first delivery of 400 books was to Dilkon Restoration Church on the reservation.
"I'm hitting 60 pretty soon and I've never had a book or owned a book," Pastor Brenda Yellowhair said.
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The pastor's story isn't uncommon, and it's part of the reason she has been wanting to create a library system within the church.
The foundation's book delivery is getting Yellowhair on the right track.
"We're not just a church that opens on Sundays. I've always been working with kids over the 20 years... and a lot of broken homes and blended families. It just seems like the kids are displaced, lost, yearning, seeking, looking," according to Yellowhair.
Park said the gratitude and appreciation for the previously unloved books made the trip worth it.
"It was just really touching to see. We kind of displayed them all out in the front and we watched the kids come pick the ones they liked. Seeing everybody be able to connect through books, it was just a lovely experience," Park stated.
With a huge success on her first attempt, Park has expanded the nonprofit counsel to include four more of her fellow students, hosting book drives at five Scottsdale schools.
The foundation has raised about 3,000 books that have been given to foster care organizations around the Valley, libraries in need, and other local Native American tribes.
Park smiled and said, "I never expected to see this organization grow to be this big where we are right now and the people we get to help, so I'm just really grateful."