Heal the Earth • Support Student Leaders • Inspire a Love of Reading
Global Book Clubs
Molly Conlin, Founder
Global Book Clubs
Background
From 2015 to 2017, Molly served with the Peace Corps in Togo.
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She was an environment and food security volunteer, but soon got involved with with after school programming for the middle school.
She had noticed that the middle school students, especially the girls, were only reading at a first grade level.
With the generous support of family and friends, she organized donations of children's books and started a girls' book club.
The book club was a huge success, but soon the challenge shifted from getting the books to keeping them in good condition.
Poor infrastructure and extreme weather started to degrade the books. Parents feared that if their children used the books, they would destroy them.
A couple years later, while completing her Master of Public Administration degree at Cornell University, Molly realized that a potential solution existed.
Years earlier, while studying environmental science at Connecticut College, Molly had read the book Cradle to Cradle.
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This book described the potential for circular economies in our society and was itself made from upcycled plastic.
Upcycled meant not only that plastic waste had been recycled to make the book, but also that the book could then be re-recycled into new products.
Eliminating waste. Creating durable, waterproof books that could withstand the forces of nature, including toddlers.
Molly realized that if this technology had been applied to the books used in her book club, even more children would have access to recreational reading for years to come.
So, she set about creating Global Book Clubs with the hope that this program could inspire a love for reading in children all around the world.
