Books - WE DID IT

My friends, we did it.

I asked for your help, your kindness, and you overwhelmingly responded.  It was the perfect reminder to me that, as Helen Keller said, “Alone, I can do so little.  Together, we can do so much.”

When I heard that the Reading Coach at Gomez Heritage Elementary School, Tanya Becker, had died suddenly at only 48 years old, it moved me.  And as I saw her co-workers, mostly my sister Sherry, grieve for the tremendous loss, I decided that I wanted to do something.  But in situations like that, what is there to DO, right?  Send a card, maybe bake a casserole… Those types of situations feel so overwhelming that it seems like nothing can be done.

Gomez Heritage Elementary School

Maybe it was because I was taking serious painkillers for a surgery I had just had, but I thought of an idea: COLLECT ENOUGH DONATED BOOKS TO GIVE ONE TO EVERY CHILD AND STAFF MEMBER AT TANYA’S SCHOOL.  Reading was her mission, and by giving everyone a book, we could help carry that mission on!

Tanya Becker, an inspirational woman

So I texted my sister and asked if she thought the idea would be a respectful way to honor Tanya and if the school would allow me to do it.  She thought it sounded great, so a plan had been born. 

Only, in my drugged up post-surgery state, I hadn’t considered EVERYTHING…  Most blatantly, I hadn’t asked the critical question, “How many books/people are we talking about here?”.   And now that the project is done and we have succeeded, I guess I am glad I didn’t ask for numbers in the beginning, because hearing the answer – a little over 1,000 books needed to be collected in only one month – might have scared me away!!

I set about DOING.  I looked through my own bookshelves for books in good shape that I could donate.  But the most important thing I did was to write a blog piece that explained the mission, the project.  I posted it, and it started to spread.  People read it.  People contacted me.  People shared the post.  And it grew, oh boy did it grow!!  To date well over 4,000 people have read it!  You can see the original story here:  Your Kindness Needed post

Then, the most beautiful thing happened -  people got involved.  I got emails from so many kind-hearted souls wanting to pitch in!  I was honored to hear from some of Tanya’s family members, sorority sisters, and former classmates and students.  Her co-workers at Gomez contacted me.  Schools contacted me.  Offices pitched in.  Facebook groups of KIND PEOPLE shared and donated. People from all over the country were eager to help out, many (like me) who had never had the good fortune of meeting Tanya.

Books starting arriving.
And they just KEPT ON COMING!

Kemper and Tallis with just a few of the
donated books at their house!

And before long, the books and gift cards started arriving.  It was fabulous!!  We set up 4 drop off points: my house in Arlington, VA for my neighbors who had read the story, my 2 sister’s houses, and my niece’s house (all in the Omaha area).  About a week after I wrote about the project, my phone started buzzing.  Things were arriving every single day!!  One sister would text and say, “A box of books from this person was on my porch when I got home from work!”.  The other sister would text and say, “The UPS man brought another box of brand new books!!”.  My niece would text and say, “My friends all chipped in – we have lots more books!!”. 

This one was great -
Sam I Am becomes Juan Ramon in the Spanish version!

Dr. Seuss books arrived!

We got "Goodnight iPad"

"Goodnight Moon", too

Authors like Mary Amato sent autographed books!

You guys, seeing people getting involved was so inspiring!  Our goal of 1,000 books seemed huge, but as more people pitched it, it began to look more and more doable.  Even AUTHORS donated and were gracious enough to autograph their books!!  A non-profit group in Omaha offered to help us meet our goal if we needed assistance.  And one retired teacher in Omaha donated her WHOLE COLLECTION of books that she had used in the classroom for years – boxes and boxes and boxes of books!  It was amazing!

Mrs. Rohwer's husband delivered her entire collection of classroom books!

A very special in-person book deliver from Mrs. Becker's family 

You might recognize Kindness Activist Brenda,
seen here delivering books she and her
office mates collected!

Author/Editor Megan Scribner autographing two very special books to donate

We got books of every type you can imagine.  We got:  paperbacks, hard covers, Spanish, picture books, adult books, kid books, books of literally every size, shape, and topic imaginable!!!!  And I had some stickers designed to put inside the front covers of each book to remind the recipients how much Mrs. Becker loved them, and of the importance of continuing to READ!

This was the image on the stickers - Mrs. Becker often made her hands into this heart shape

As books continued to pour in, I realized I had to go to Omaha for the delivery.  I mean, the whole project was so inspiring and it was growing by leaps and bounds, so I didn’t want to miss the big delivery day!  I booked a ticket on Southwest Airlines, knowing that they allow for 2 free checked bags and anticipating I would use that allowance to haul BOOKS! 

I flew to Omaha (with 98.5 lbs of luggage, most of which was books!) a few days before the “giveaway” day and we set about ORGANIZING.  We needed 1,000 books, but we got FAR, FAR more than that!!  We ended up getting over 5,000 books!!!  Yes, FIVE TIMES the amount we asked for!!  We didn’t even have to contact the non-profit who was our “back-up” in case we didn’t meet the goal.  It was so inspiritng!!!  It was also exhausting, and took a houseful of family members hours and hours to organize. 

Annette, going through a box of donations

Even the school PRINCIPAL, Mr. Campin, helped out!

At the end of the organizing party - whew there were LOTS of books (this picture only shows a fraction of them!)

Stickers getting ready to be put in

Because we had so many books, it allowed us to not only give a book to each Gomez person, but to help stock a reading area at the school that the PTO Is planning in Mrs. Becker’s memory, and ALSO to help some brand new teachers at the school start their very own classroom libraries!  We know that Tanya would have been thrilled to help with that. 

My sister Sherry and I filmed a piece to be shown on the school news the morning of the giveaway so that each classroom would understand the project.  We wanted to be honest without being too sad, and to speak to the students on their level.  We decided to end the piece by reading a book called, “The Goodbye Book” by Todd Parr, a children’s author that I love.  Let me just say this; we had to practice a few times before filming to make sure we could get through the book without crying too hard.  You can see the Gomez video here: Gomez TV Mrs. Becker story (scroll down until you see us in yellow and blue t-shirts).

The day of the giveaway was overwhelming.  Students and staff were SO APPRECIATIVE.  

We began by displaying the adult books in a teacher work room, and also putting up a shadow box we had made in Tanya’s memory.  As soon as the books were out, teachers and staff began coming in and looking through them.  It was terrific.   

Shadow Box for Gomez

Adult books ready for staff to peruse!

We had pre-sorted the books separated into reading levels, so when the bell rang and school started we were ready to go!  My sisters and I each had a decorated cart piled high with books for the grade level we were going to visit, and off we went!!  We started with the itty bitties, and boy was it beautiful!!

Would anyone like a BOOK??  :)

In each classroom I explained why I was there and then laid far more books than were needed on a rug.  We wanted to make sure that not only did students get a book, but they had a CHOICE in their book.  They.  Loved.  It.  Some kids literally squealed with delight at the idea of getting their very own book to bring home with them!!!  I heard this phrase often throughout the day, “But there are soooo many books, too many to choose!!!!!”  One little boy described the rug full of books to choose from as a “BOOK VOLCANO”!!!!  And one child in a second grade classroom that Sherry visited proclaimed that the book he was given was his very first ever book to keep.  Imagine!! 

The book hand-out crew

We got so many hugs, so many thank you s, and some tears from teachers.  But most of all, we got LOVE.  It was clear that this day of giving, this day of books, meant far more than words on paper.  It was a day to remember Tanya, to celebrate her life and her mission, to grieve. 

So friends, THANK YOU.  Thanks to those who sent books, donations, or gift cards.  Thanks to those who sent encouraging words.  Thanks to those who believed we could do it!  WE DID IT!!!!!!

Special thanks to the on-the-scene helpers:  Sherry, Jim, Annette, Jordan, Zach, Ashlee (who also helped at Gomez), Kemper, Tallis, and Ryker

Lessons learned from this humongous act of kindness:

·         If you ask for help, you are likely to get it

·         In times of sorrow, people want to help but are not sure how to.  If you give them something concrete to do, they appreciate it.  They have a way to help, and their actions make the world a better place.

·         Children are very appreciative.

·         There are plenty of kind people in the world.

·         Don’t be afraid to set a lofty goal – because you just might reach it.

That’s a wrap!  We do not need any more donations, so if you have books to give, please consider donating them to another charity. 

Thanks for being SO KIND.

The end of a very long, very beautiful, VERY SPECIAL day.  There are signs all around the school that proclaim their values, but I didn't notice the one on the door behind us until now:  GRATITUDE.
Yes, gratitude that such a wonderful lady touched so many lives and brought so much love to the world.
Tanya Becker, you are missed.  

Children's Books Kindness

Sure, most of us enjoy reading a children’s book aloud to a child.  You get to do the funny voices, you have an appreciative audience, and the books are usually sweet and fun.  But most of us DO NOT commit to reading to children as much as the lovely Rick Wasserman does.  Here is his story:

Rick in the studio

Rick is an actor in Los Angeles.  He does a lot of voice-over work.  In fact, I would bet you have heard his voice, you just didn’t know who it was.  Take a listen:

Short promo - listen until the end - that is RICK!

Yup, Rick is a big deal.  (My words, not his.  But he IS a big deal!)  He is the 10 year “signature voice” of AMC Network. Remember the “Better Call Saul” commercials telling you about the next episode??  Or how about “The Walking Dead”??  Yup, those were Rick.  He also does voice-over work for many other networks, cartoons, animation, commercials, video games, documentaries, and movie trailers.  So see, a BIG DEAL.   J  (Note:  all you “Better Call Saul” junkies out there, do NOT spoil it for me!  We are in the middle of season one.)

And not only is he busy PROFESSIONALLY, he also has a beautiful wife and two adorable sons.  He loves magic and cooking.  I tell you this to explain:  Rick has a lot of stuff to do, he is a busy person!  It is not like he is just sitting by the swimming pool drinking margaritas…  And yet…

Rick and his awesome family

For the last four years Rick has volunteered his time to go to UCLA’s Mattel Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles and read books to patients.  Once a month.  For FOUR YEARS.  He started by working with a group of professional voice-over artists called PRIMETIME VOICES FOR CHILDREN, led by popular VO artist Joe Cipriano (who Rick calls a “fine human being”). Here is how Rick tells the story of his introduction to reading at the hospital: 

“The idea was that we’d make a recording of us voicing THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, each artist taking a couple of sentences. The sales of the recording would be gifted to the Child Life Center at UCLA's Mattel Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles.  As a special bonus, we were scheduled to perform the story, live, at the hospital for the children on an early December afternoon.  So I went along with the boisterous group a few days before the holidays and we performed and it was very well received.  During that first visit, I noticed that three of the five children I read to didn’t celebrate Christmas. A few didn’t speak English. Some didn’t want to be read to, rather, they just wanted some company. I felt compelled to come back and read to the children again, but with the stories I read to my own kids: short, fun, and provocative.  I asked the head nurse if I could come back by myself with this new plan. I was allowed to return the next month. And the next. Now I am going on my fourth year. I never miss a monthly visit.”

Voice-Over Artists entertaining at the hospital

Rick and team in action 

Isn’t that amazing?  Every single month he gives of his time, his voice, and his heart.  He usually goes alone, but every Christmas the PRIMETIME VOICES group visits and dresses up, reading all sorts of holiday and non-holiday books (and singing carols J ).  I would say that annual visit by those artists is a holiday mitzvah not to be missed!  What a way to give back to their community.  Heck, I am not a patient and he doesn’t sit and read books to me, but every once in a while I see a photo like this of his on Facebook and it makes me smile so big:

Great selection of books, eh?  It would be hard to choose which one I wanted to hear!

I asked Rick about the origins of his visits, which he had never done anything like before, and how the volunteering makes him feel.  He explained it so well: “After I’d been performing voice-overs for about a decade, a close friend asked me if that’s ALL I wanted to do. He said it seemed to him that while VO served me and my family, it didn’t really serve humanity. I am still not sure how I feel about that remark, but it did start me thinking: how can I serve humanity besides throwing money at charities.  The first time I read for the children, I was focused on performing and doing a good job; I probably did that on purpose so I didn’t have to feel all the emotions one might feel surrounded by what the nurses have called “catastrophically ill” patients and their worried and exhausted families. The next time I read to them, I forced myself to connect and open up. It was a very hard visit. I felt like crying and leaving. Each time I visit, I challenge myself to stay open, to stay available…and play. Just play. I try and “read” each room I visit and let the patient dictate how they want to interact. Sometimes I read a story or two. Sometimes we just talk or play a game.  I am pretty good with magic and mentalism, so we often enjoy some fun tricks as well. For better or for worse, I see a lot of the same children during my visits and we both look forward to meeting up again. Many children have passed; I won’t ever get used to that and I don’t want to. I love them.”

Oh I can imagine how excited those “repeat customers” are when they see Rick walk into their room!!  I bet their eyes light up and they are thrilled to have a REAL VISITOR, not someone who is going to take blood or make them do physical therapy.  Sure, those medical treatments are very, very important, but so is feeling like a kid and hearing a story, or watching a magic trick!  I would bet money that those kids are healthier AFTER Rick’s visit than they were before he walked in. 

A thank you card from a kid - super sweet.

I asked Rick how he thinks the kids and their families feel when he visits here is how he described it: “I think the kids get a kick out of my visits. For some, it’s a distraction from their illness and monotony of their daily lives, often being confined to a bed. Many patients equate an adult stranger with someone who is going to poke at their stitches, give them shots, or bring them bad news; so I think I help demonstrate that some adults wanna just have a good time with them…with no pain, anxiety, or fear. Some don’t have family with them, so I can provide them with the comfort of a familiar face. I think they mostly see me as a big kid, a playmate. Parents and siblings are grateful for my visits too. I regularly read to the kids who are unconscious which their families find comforting.”

Click here to hear some of Rick reading "The Frog and the Ox" - it is lovely!

My partner David is a clown with the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington DC.  It is a fantastic program that sends clowns into Children’s Hospitals across the country.  I am a firm believer that programs like Clown Doctors, reading to kids, music in hospitals, etc. help the patients and their families.  Heck, I even think it helps the STAFF by giving them a bit of a distraction and something fun to focus on for a moment.  And I am certain that the families of those unconscious patients that Rick reads to are so grateful to have him pay attention to their child, to treat them as normal. 

How could the sight of this sweet man in your hospital room with this book NOT make you feel better??

Rick told me he can’t see himself not reading to the kids.  To him, it is not difficult and is something he loves.  He explained, “If it provides the kids just a few moments when they are not thinking about being sick in a hospital, then it is well worth it. I like me better when I am with the children. I encourage others to read to children. Kids need the interaction. A TV or phone or tablet is NOT the same. I also never call the kids “soldiers” or “angels” or “special” and I don’t tell them how brave they are: they are tired of hearing that stuff. They just wanna be treated like other kids. That’s how I try and make them feel.” 

To close this out, I must use Rick’s words, for they are much more poignant than anything I could write about his experience, “It is not emotionally easy…but it shouldn’t be. I used to avoid sad music, movies, stories and the like because I don’t like feeling sad. But I have realized it is part of the emotional spectrum. I NEED to feel sad sometimes. Some things are sad.  And as a bonus, feeling the sad makes feeling the happy that much sweeter. When a patient’s health improves, my heart swells. I once visited a child I’d read to many,many times.  When I finished reading a story, her mother nudged her and asked her to tell me her news. She smiled with a big cheeky grin and said, “I got my new heart.” I was honored to be there for that moment.”

Rick, it is an honor to dub you a Kindness Activist.  Thank you for reminding us that we need to experience all stops along the emotional spectrum.  Thank you for using your talent, your voice, and your heart to bring joy and kindness to the children and their families.  You said that the head of PRIMETIME VOICES FOR CHILDREN was a “fine human being”, and I would have to say, sir, that that label definitely applies to YOU as well. 

Are you inspired by Rick's kindness?  Hopefully hearing about his big heart (and big voice) give you ideas about going into YOUR community and BEING KIND!  Make sure to "like" Kindness Activist on Facebook or follow us on Twitter (@KindActivist) so you can be inspired by more Kindness Activists!

Resources:

PRIMETIME VOICES FOR CHILDREN reading “The Night Before Christmas”:  click here

Rick Wasserman website for Bookable VO (study with the best!):  click here

Rick Wasserman on Wikipedia (ok, I fan girled out a bit while writing this one…):  click here

Rick on IMDB:  click here 

Big Apple Circus Clown Care:  click here