Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Girl, 8, collects books for schools affected by Irma
While watching the news with her mom one morning in early October, 8-year-old Caitlin Underwood wondered what she could do to help people devastated by Hurricane Irma in the Florida Keys.
People were already donating food, water and clothes, said her mother, Tina Underwood. What else could her daughter donate that help people who had lost everything?
“That’s when I thought: books,” Caitlin said.
Caitlin remembered that her teacher the year before had been very into books, and said that sometimes they can make people feel calmer.
Caitlin and her mom started by recording a video about the book drive and sharing it on Facebook so friends and family could donate. Tina Underwood also called the Monroe County School District to find out which schools had been affected the worst. The district gave her the number for three schools that could use the books.
But Caitlin wanted to cast a wider net. She asked her third-grade teacher at Wilton Manors Elemenmight tary about it, and she spoke to the principal.
The next thing she knew, Caitlin was on the school’s televised morning announcements talking about the book drive and posting fliers around the school.
The books came pouring in. Kids in Distress and the Richard C. Sullivan Public Library of Wilton Manors encouraged people to donate, or
sent books that were being retired. A retired schoolteacher planned to donate his entire fourth-grade classroom library to Kids in Distress, and they told him to take the books to Wilton Manors Elementary for Caitlin’s book drive.
“It became a lot bigger than I think we ever thought it would very quickly,” Tina Underwood said. In a month, their family has collected well over 1,000 books, she said. “They’re not going to fit in the back of the car. We’re going to have to rent some sort of a trailer or something.”
Underwood and her two daughters will drive the books down to Sugarloaf Key on Nov. 6. The next day, they’ll distribute the books to Sugarloaf Elementary and then head north to the two other schools.
“That’s going to be fun, isn’t it?” Underwood asked Caitlin on Thursday as they labeled individual books at their dining room table before rushing off to a costume contest at the school. Caitlin wore a Cat Woman costume as she placed the labels on the books.
More than 10 boxes of already-labeled books lined the wall beneath the kitchen counter, and Caitlin kept a few more in her room. “We’re all going to go down there along with her little sister, who is in kindergarten and has also been a big help in all this.”
Caitlin said she was happy to think that the books might brighten people’s outlook in a dire situation. “It feels good to know that I’m helping people with their struggles,” she said.
Wilton Manors Elementary honored Caitlin at the school’s recent spirit assembly with a certificate for taking action.
“I think it was a great idea and I’m glad to see that we’re able to pull it off and make it happen,” Underwood said. “I think that it’s important for her to know that every kid can make a difference.”