The Joys of Reading and Serving

Books: can you ever have enough? My husband wonders if my need for more books will ever be satiated as he looks around our house and sees at least one bookcase in every room. However, the power of books in our lives and those of our children is unmeasurable.

There is a wonderful non-profit organization called the Bright Lights Book Project that places bookcases around the Valley filled with free books. It started in 2019 with two bookcases and has now grown to 35 throughout the Valley. I first encountered one of these bookcases in my husband’s office, Wolf Eye Center and could not believe that people were giving away such beautiful books for free! I was in the process of starting to homeschool my preschooler and took an armful home. I loved visiting my husband during his lunch at work, but now I had an extra reason to go as often as I could.

I learned more about their organization through their website, https://brightlightsbookproject.org, and started attending open houses. After talking to Alys Culhane, I started volunteering regularly.

As I continued to volunteer, I continued to grow my library. Bright Lights “salvages, sorts, cleans, categorizes, and distributes books locally and statewide. Books come from private donations, school districts, and other sources.”

I am even allowed to bring my children to come and help me. There are not many organizations that allow children to come and volunteer, and my children are young! They come and after a while, they always find a book to look at and spend the rest of the time looking through. They are gaining such a love of books before they can even read.

As a stay-at-home mother, I love this opportunity I have to go and serve to fill my heart and also to show an example for my children that service is important to me. Service can come in so many ways, but this small way that I can serve my greater community helps me feel connected to people I don’t know. I have explained to my 4-year-old son that we are cleaning these books for other children (as we usually clean the children’s books), and sometimes he will say, we have this book and I love it, are we going to give it away to a friend? I can say that yes, we will be giving it to a friend. He even once wanted to take a book home to a specific friend. I also enjoy looking for books that I know my friends and their families will enjoy. Introducing them to books I love knits our hearts together and is a way I serve my immediate neighbors through the same work.

Deiter F. Uchtdorf, a modern apostle, said, “Jesus taught, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ Can it be that in our search for joy, the best way to find it is to bring joy to others? You know and I know this is true! Joy is like a barrel of flour or a jar of oil that will never run out. True joy multiplies when it is shared. It doesn’t require something grand or complicated. We can do simple things.”

I have felt that joy as I have served through this organization. If I ever am having a bad day, I know a way I can turn it around is by serving, and it doesn’t hurt that I am surrounded by one of my favorite things as I do it as well! Not only that, but as I serve, I am surrounded by other volunteers who are great examples to me of generosity, kindness, and Christ’s love. The organization is constantly innovating to have a bigger impact on the lives of children and adults in the community and beyond.

If you are interested in volunteering there are many ways to help out. Or, if you have children of your own, watch their Facebook page and look for the family-centered events they sponsor with, of course, books for you to take home. You can also find them at Friday Flings and their list of where their bookcases are can be found on their website. Or, look for other organizations that need help. There are so many worthy causes around the Valley that are always looking for volunteers. There are a million ways to serve, we just need to find one and then go and do it!

Alicia Anderson is married to Austin Anderson and they have two children, and are expecting a third. She loves being a stay at home Mom, adventuring, reading, and the great outdoors. She is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.