9-Year-Old Aims to Break the Record for Most Books Collected in 24 Hours

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Danay Ferguson is only 9 and already trying to make a difference. She has collected thousands of books to fight... Posted by CBS47 Fresno on Thursday, February 11, 2016


Danay Ferguson isn't your typical kid. At the young age of 9, she's already accomplished more than most adults by founding her own officially recognized nonprofit and helping to donate thousands of books to children in schools, hospitals, and low-income neighborhoods. Now Danay and the rest of her organization are preparing to break the world record for most books collected within a 24-hour window, Inhabitots reports.

Danay started her nonprofit, called Reading Heart, when she was 8 years old as a way of sharing her intense love of reading with other children in her hometown of Fresno, California. Her initial plan was to open a bookstore, but she decided to found a charity instead after realizing that some people wouldn't be able to afford books of their own. She's since collected 90,000 books with the help of family and volunteers and is currently touring over 130 local schools to speak about her cause. In between everything she has going on in her life, Danay somehow still finds time to read two to three books a day.

Reading Heart hopes to collect a record-breaking 500,000 books between March 18 and 19. The books that are donated during the drive will be distributed to the pediatric wings of local hospitals and to every elementary school student in Fresno county. If you're interested in lending a hand, Scholastic Publishing has agreed to provide four new books for every donation of $5 to Reading Heart.

Banner/header images courtesy of CBS47 Fresno via Facebook.

[h/t Inhabitots]