Twin Hickory Library Book and Bike Donation Drive

Whoa! Insane.

We were donated thousands of books and 31 bicycles today!

We arrived at the library this morning a little before 10 am to Adrienne's enthusiasm after she had done an amazing job of making posters and promoting the event. Along for the ride was Steve, our newest recruit, the Books on Wheels cook, equipped with all the necessities to make us burritos for lunch. We set up along side Phil, the Henrico County Bookmobile dude, who happens to be awesome and seemed to get our sense of humor, which happens very rarely.

We had people coming by immediately to drop off books, bikes, and check out the bus. Within the first hour of arriving, the weird weather really kicked in, and when we saw lightening off in the distance figured it was a pretty good idea to move everything a little closer to the building where we could get some cover from the rain. It rained sideways for a bit, the bus got a bath, and we worked on the donated bikes to distribute over the course of the next few weeks at some of our events located in neighborhoods that may not have the same "disposable wealth" as where the library is located.

At one point I was standing in the bus, getting some things organized to make room for the donations that we going to be loading in, and a woman and her young daughter came to the door so her daughter could see the inside of the bus. The woman and I chat for a moment about Books on Wheels and the bus, and she talks about days when she traveled. As they both walk away, I hear the woman say to her daughter, "Do you think that maybe you want to do something like that when you grow up?". I think that defined endearing for me, and was one of the most flattering comments I wasn't supposed to hear come from another person.

Props to Lexi, the eight-year-old who made flyers and handed them out in her neigborhood, and in two weeks collect 815 books just for Books on Wheels. I'm 25 and her flyer looked way better than the crap I make.

-Shelley