Leslie Gang was heartbroken over the death of her colleague. In 2018, Hindi Krinksy – New York English teacher and mother of five – died from complications of Crohn’s Disease. To honor Hindi, Leslie and Hindi’s husband began a nonprofit – Hindi’s Libraries.
Co-Founder Leslie Gang explains:
"Hindi’s Libraries aims to promote literacy by donating children’s books to those in need throughout the world. The endeavor began in December of 2018 as a project to build and fill a Little Free Library on her school’s campus and quickly expanded into something much larger. The book donations kept coming and before we knew it, we were looking for recipients to donate the remaining books to (those that could no longer fit in the little free library we built). "
As of January 2020, Hindi’s Libraries has collected more than 75,000 books; they are distributed to more than 385 organizations around the world spanning across all 50 states, India, Israel and Puerto Rico. Based in Long Island, NY, books are distributed to low-income schools, foster care agencies, homeless shelters, legal aid societies, medical clinics, hospitals, and other organizations that serve families and children in need. Furthermore, Hindi’s Libraries has an impressive lineup of corporate partners, including Barnes and Noble, Disney Publishing Worldwide, Highlights Magazine, and Scholastic. They also work locally in communities to promote grassroots book drives for gently used books.
Despite their enormous success in a short time, Hindi’s Libraries has big plans for the future. Leslie explains, “We hope to become fully international and receive the funding needed to send book shipments all over the world to organizations that are truly in need. Additionally, we hope to expand and travel to personally deliver the books to our recipients and add an interactive literacy outreach program component when delivering the books.”
In this work, Leslie Gang has learned important lessons:
"All you need to make a difference is the will to make it happen. If you’re passionate enough about making something come to be, all you need is to set your mind to it, set a specific goal, and go full force. Teamwork is essential in growth. Finding support and utilizing each other’s strengths to advance is crucial and will make it that much easier to move ahead. Sometimes, especially at the beginning stages, you may feel that people are doubting you or second guessing your actions, but as long as you have the determination and drive, there’s really nothing stopping you.”
For more information on Hindi's Libraries, check out these links:
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Facebook.com/hindislibraries
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Twitter.com/hindislibraries