Location: Long Island, New York

Date Founded: 2019

Contact Name: Leslie Gang

Contact: leslie@hindislibraries.org

Website: https://www.hindislibraries.com/

9dc Give Amount: $500

Video: https://youtu.be/eRJ9Z1RPsAI

We are going to share a statistic that might blow your mind. It blew our minds when shared with us by Hindi's Libraries co-founder Leslie Gang. In a middle-income neighborhood, the ratio of books to children is 13 to 1. Meanwhile, in a low-income neighborhood, the ratio of books to children is 1 to 300. Imagine 300 children fighting over just 1 book! This is something that Hindi's Libraries of Long Island, NY is working to abolish: the inaccessibility of books in children's lives. They aim to give the gift of literacy, something so detrimental to the success of a child. Studies find that:

• Students not reading at their grade level are four times more likely to drop out of high school
• Two-thirds of students who cannot read by the fourth grade end up in jail or on welfare
• 66% of low-income families own no books for their children

Who is Hindi's Libraries?

Watch this amazing video describing their organization. about them! Hindi's Libraries is operated by co-founders Leslie Gang and Dovid Kanarfogel. Their non-profit began unexpectedly, after the sudden passing of Dr. Hindi Krinsky (Dovid Kanarfogel's wife) in the summer of 2018. Hindi, only 32, was a well-known and well-loved English teacher who had a passion for reading. In her honor, the two built a Little Free Library in the courtyard of her school, asking each child to bring a book to put inside. When the book donation pile began to top over 500 books, Leslie and Dovid knew this project was just getting started.

Hindi's Libraries works to connect new and/or gently used books to children in need. They collaborate with a variety of non-profits, with each dollar they receive going into purchasing books and getting them to the children that need them. Their goal is to not only share Hindi's passion for reading and love for literature with thousands of children, but to recognize the importance of child literacy and ensure every child has a book in their hands. Since their beginning in 2019, Hindi's Libraries has donated over 200,000 books in all 50 states and to a growing 8 countries.

What Did We Give?

Watch our conversation with Leslie in the video below! We talked to Leslie about different routes to get these books donated, and who exactly we could get these books to. She discussed  a current social media challenge happening in the month of July, that supported Homestretch of Falls Church, VA. Hindi's Libraries was giving $400 worth of books to Homestretch, who's mission is to empower homeless families to be self-sufficient by giving skills, knowledge, and hope to becoming productive community participants. The 9dollarclub agreed to match this donation, purchasing $400 in books and using additional dues to cover shipping costs which can be expensive. Our donation of books will go towards children seeking help from Homestretch, making books more accessible to them and therefore improving their literacy. 

To learn more about Hindi's Libraries and their various contributions to improving children's literacy, please visit their website at hindislibraries.com. 

We will send updates as these books are purchased and delivered to Homestretch! A huge thank you to Hindi's Libraries for partnering with us this July, and allowing us to make such an impactful give!