ELISSA NADWORNY, HOST:
Books aren't always available for children everywhere in the U.S. One group in West Virginia wants to change that for preschoolers. As part of our series, Here to Help, West Virginia Public Broadcasting's Chris Schulz reports.
CHRIS SCHULZ, BYLINE: Even in our digital age, a good book can still a room full of young kids brimming with morning energy.
DEVAN CHOPRA: (Reading) Pete the Cat was walking down the street in his brand-new white shoes.
SCHULZ: Devan Chopra is a junior in high school, but today she's in a preschool classroom in Grafton, West Virginia. She's reading "Pete The Cat."
DEVAN: (Reading) Pete loved his white shoes so much, he sang this song. (Singing) I love my white shoes.
I'm here because I really want to spread the love of reading.
SCHULZ: Chopra has been volunteering with the LiTEArary Society for four years - since she was in seventh grade. The group collects books and takes them to classrooms like this one for students to take home.
DEVAN: We've been bringing books through Appalachia, and this is the next in our stop.
Do you like presents?
UNIDENTIFIED PRESCHOOL STUDENTS: Yeah.
DEVAN: Yes.
SCHULZ: The children get excited when she hands them their books. Rania Zuri created the LiTEArary Society. The name is a play on her love of reading and tea. She came up with it in her home of Morgantown, West Virginia, about five years ago. That's when she learned about book deserts, places where books for children are difficult to get.
RANIA ZURI: I was so sad to learn in middle school that so many children don't have that privilege of having a parent or caregiver read to them or have books at home. And so when I started, I really wanted to begin with donating "Pete The Cat" books because that was my favorite.
SCHULZ: Since then, she created a nonprofit organization with thousands of volunteers that has donated over a million dollars' worth of new best-selling picture books to over 91,000 preschool children. Volunteers like Chopra have helped the organization spread across the country. She says the LiTEArary Society makes it easy for middle schoolers to join. For Chopra, starting early was key.
DEVAN: You can make a difference if you're a child. Because they're younger, 'cause they're middle school, high school, they don't think that what they do is really, really going to make a difference. And to that, I say, look at the LiTEArary Society because we're entirely youth-led.
SCHULZ: The reward of volunteering to read to children and bring them their own books is clear to her.
DEVAN: It honestly means the world to me because, specifically in this state, I always think if just one kid falls in love with reading and has the same passion that I had as a kid growing up, then it makes everything worth it.
SCHULZ: The LiTEArary Society already has high school chapters in all 50 states and is even encouraging kids 12 and younger to get involved. For NPR News, I'm Chris Schulz in Grafton, West Virginia.
ELISSA NADWORNY: In 2022, Rania Zuri received a Daily Point of Light Award, which honors a volunteer every day for their community service. For more stories of ordinary people who are exceptional volunteers, visit npr.org/heretohelp.
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