The Inspiration. Mahtab was inspired to share books after Hurricane Harvey struck her home in Houston, Texas, on August 25th, 2017. Harvey was the worst hurricane to strike Houston in a century. Over 100 people were killed and damages to property exceeded $125 billion. Mahtab and her family were four of the 13 million people who were affected. Her family’s single-story home was flooded with four feet of water. Almost all was lost, including Mahtab’s books.
The loss of her books was heart-breaking and caused Mahtab to understand fully the joy that reading provided her. Her loss also made her understand that millions of children never have the chance to hold a book in their hands, to read the book and to slip into another world, to escape reality, and to experience the adventures that come only through reading.
Mahtab soon decided to make it her mission to make sure every child in the world had a chance to hold and read a book. She contacted Allison Vaughan, her school librarian, to discuss how best to fulfill her mission. Mrs. Vaughan was enthusiastic and they soon developed plans to distribute books to children who needed them. There were many considerations. They needed to determine where they could get their books. Where the books would be sent and how they would be shipped. Plus, they needed to figure out how to finance their operation. They put their plans into action and Books 2 Smiles was formed.
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