Past President Paul Gore introduced Pam Leo by referring to Buckminster Fuller’s use of the metaphor of the trim tab on a rudder for understanding how to leverage personal power. The force exerted by the tiny trim tab on a large rudder can literally turn a ship around. The same applies to people, Paul said, in that one person can be the force to change society. He pointed to Pam Leo, founder of the "Book Fairy Pantry Project," as someone who exhibited the characteristics of a trim tab, as she tries to address the issues of illiteracy. Pam said she was persuaded to start her project after learning that two-thirds of the 15.5 million children living in poverty did not have a book to call their own. “I grew up in poverty without books or a college degree in Aroostook County,” she said. “I know what it’s like to be one in four children in this country who don't know how to read.”
Pam pointed to a quotation from Denis Waitley as a driver for starting her project: “There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.” She said that learning to read is a human right. “It’s not like there’s a shortage of books. We have more than enough to give to children in poverty.” Pam said that the issue for her was how to distribute books to children in families who struggle. Her moment of epiphany came when she realized the link between food pantries and families in poverty. “Food pantries distribute food—every community has one—so why not use them to distribute books to parents.
Pam said that the process she wanted was to distribute books to parents who would, in turn, give them to their children. “All parents want to do things for their children,” she said. “This gives them that chance.” Bootstrapping her nonprofit from small gifts, she was able to raise sufficient funds to buy used books from Goodwill, and secured a $2,000 grant from Families for Conscious Living to create a logo, establish a website, and recruit volunteers to help sort and clean books. Food pantries are delighted to participate in the project. Pam also told us that the Portland Public Library is a huge supporter and has been working to help parents by teaching literacy. She said that her goal is to help children develop their own libraries.
She said that funding was not as much of an issue, but she was still looking for more sources for used books that would be appropriate for children. Donations of new and gently-used books are accepted at the nonprofit, Birth Roots, at 101 State Street in Portland. There is a dropbox in the lobby.
Pam closed her presentation by reading to us from the book, “Everything I Know, I Learned From Golden Books.”
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(Photo L-R: President Don Zillman, Past President Paul Gore and Pam Leo.)