Social Impact Heroes: “How Leslie Gang and Hindi’s Libraries is providing reading material to children who are in an environment where they might not be exposed to any books at all”
Over the summer, a school in Oklahoma had some classrooms destroyed by flooding. We came across one of the teachers who shared her story on Twitter and was requesting book donations from anyone and everyone who could help. To see the literary community unite was truly incredible. Along with several authors and publishers, Hindi’s Libraries sent book donations to this needy teacher who was then able to provide her children with hundreds of books in her classroom library just in time for the back-to-school season.
As part of my series about “individuals and organizations making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Leslie Gang.
Leslie Gang is the Director of Communications & Exec. Admin. Asst. at The Brandeis School in Lawrence, NY. Gang has a BS in Communication from Boston University with a specialization in Public Relations. Gang resides in Hewlett, NY with her husband Jason Gang, J.D., Alexandra (age 7) and Simon (age 5). Gang currently serves as co-founder of Hindi’s Libraries along with Hindi’s husband Dovid Kanarfogel.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
After the passing of Dr. Hindi Krinsky, 32 year old mother of 5 and English teacher in August of last year, our community joined forces to find ways to continue her legacy. At first we created a small free library box on the campus of the school where she taught, and her five children attend. When we noticed that parents, friends and family members had more books to donate than could fit into the library box, we decided to expand. Here we are today, with 50,000 books collected, donations to 350+ organizations that span across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, India and Israel. It’s really been an incredible journey, and we’re only getting started.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
It certainly has been exciting to partner with corporations such as Barnes and Noble, Disney Publishing Worldwide, and Avery Dennison. However, the most interesting and inspiring moment was when I was approached by Victoria Isernia, a high school sophomore, who had learned about our organization from her aunt, a Hindi’s Libraries book donation recipient. Victoria took initiative all on her own to run a massive book drive in Long Island. Her efforts resulted in a donation of more than 3,000 books collected from her community. Watching a teenager feel empowered by our story, take the reigns and create such a successful project, really humbled us. It just goes to show that if you want to make a difference, you can.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
It’s not so much of a mistake, but sometimes Dovid and I are so surprised by the sorts of books we receive. Some of the titles are outrageous, the topics are unbelievable, and the illustrations are so unpredictable.
I will say that after receiving some of these more “interesting” books that we felt we couldn’t donate, we sat down and made guidelines to help our donors understand what sorts of books we’re able to accept.
Can you describe how you or your organization is making a significant social impact?
If you look at the child-literacy statistics, they are absolutely mind-blowing.
- 61% of low-income families have no books at all in their homes for their children. Reading Literacy in the United States: Findings from the IEA Reading Literacy Study. (1996).
- In middle-income neighborhoods the ratio of books per child is 13 to 1, in low-income neighborhoods, the ratio is 1 age-appropriate book for every 300 children. Neuman, Susan B. and David K. Dickinson, ed. Handbook of Early Literacy Research, Volume 2. New York, NY: 2006, p. 31
- On average, children in economically depressed communities have 0–2 age appropriate books in their homes. Jeff McQuillan. The Literacy Crisis. California State University, 1998.
Hindi’s Libraries is providing reading material to children who are currently in an environment where they might not be exposed to any books at all. Additionally, by working with people far and wide (we have a family running a book drive in California right now), we are showing them that you don’t need to be the all powerful Wizard of Oz to make a difference and create change. All you need is the will to do it — and it can be done.
Can you tell me a story about a particular individual who was impacted by your cause?
Over the summer, a school in Oklahoma had some classrooms destroyed by flooding. We came across one of the teachers who shared her story on Twitter and was requesting book donations from anyone and everyone who could help. To see the literary community unite was truly incredible. Along with several authors and publishers, Hindi’s Libraries sent book donations to this needy teacher who was then able to provide her children with hundreds of books in her classroom library just in time for the back-to-school season.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
As I mentioned before, I really believe that we are all capable of making a difference. If those who have children’s books in good condition choose to donate them to causes such as ours, we will be able to change the statistics. By running book drives, sharing our organization’s story or donating towards our shipping costs, we can come together to bring books into the hands of thousands, if not millions, of children around the world.
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
Leadership is the ability to unite with others to create change. By working together and honing in on each team member’s strengths, we can overcome obstacles and make an impact. For example, when Hindi’s Libraries started to grow rather quickly, we worked with local leaders to brainstorm ways to introduce our organization to the community and make it a hands-on experience for anyone who wanted to get involved. Together, we partnered with a wonderful woman named Chani Wolowik who offered us her venue so that we may invite volunteers to help us in various stages of our collection and donation process. This is leadership, this is teamwork. This is what it’s all about.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
I wish someone had told me that hearing the word “no” is not the be all and end all. When we first started, we were trying to partner with various companies, organizations and influencers in the community and were not making much headway at all. Rejection is difficult to accept, but it certainly makes us that much more eager to achieve even more.
I wish someone had told me that “people will think you’re nuts, and that’s okay.” When Hindi’s Libraries was forming and becoming an entity in itself beyond the library boxes, the looks I got when I shared this progress with many people sometimes made me second guess our plans. But I realize that being crazy is okay, it’s what gets things done, and what get’s people’s attention. Isn’t that all that really matters?
I wish someone told me that this would change my life. I can’t even begin to put into words how meaningful this organization has become. I have formed new relationships which, quite honestly, I never would have made if not for Hindi’s Libraries, but I also don’t know where I’d be today without these people. I learned firsthand that life doesn’t always go according to your “plan,” and for someone very Type-A like me, this was NOT easy to accept. Even though creating this organization wasn’t jotted down in my “to do list” or weekly planner, I wouldn’t change it for the world.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
If every town in every city in every state can hold a book drive for just one day, can you imagine how many books we can collect to donate to those in need? Oh boy, where would we even store them until we get them all labeled? What storage space would we even use?
And if you think about it- why can’t that happen? Why can’t each town’s library or post office hold a drive for gently used books? Okay, I think I have my new mission.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I am a huge theatre enthusiast. I’ve always lived by Jonathan Larson’s words from RENT: “There’s only now. There’s only this. Forget regret or life is yours to miss. No other road, no other way. No day but today.”
My life has been somewhat of an insane roller coaster even since childhood. Still, we move forward, feeling that crazy mix of both fear and excitement, while holding on to those handlebars tightly. We close our eyes when that next drop is about to come, we can feel it in the pit of our stomach, and yet we get through it.
We follow our hearts, pursue our passions and we don’t look back. Although we most certainly make mistakes along the way, if we don’t at least try, we’ll very likely live in regret.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
I want to meet Ellen Degeneres. For a woman who has empowered so many throughout her journey, I think she’d be inspired by Hindi and by our story, and I really believe that she would help us continue to make an impact. She’s got the ear of so many, and with her help, we can move mountains.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
You can find us on social media at Facebook.com/hindislibraries, twitter.com/hindislibraries and instagram.com/hindislibraries