When a group of Westford Academy students gathered for the first meeting of Books for Brighter Futures (BFBF) on Nov. 12, 2024 they knew they all shared a passion for giving back. Today, the club has grown into a student-led nonprofit that has donated more than 1,000 books, and helped build a library in Kenya.
What began as an eighth grade book drive took on a larger purpose when sophomore co-founders Clara Ganz, Adhya Kottani, Rachael Newman, and Brooke Ducharme entered high school. As students at Stony Brook Middle School, the four wanted to help children who didn’t have access to books, but their actual journey began in high school.
“As we transitioned to high school, we saw an opportunity to expand our club further,” Newman said. “Our mission is to foster global literacy and promote a love for reading in underprivileged communities across the world.”
Their turning point came when they discovered the African Library Project (ALP), which helps establish libraries in rural African communities.
“Last school year, we partnered with the African Library Project to collect books and fund a library in Kenya,” Newman said. “African Library Project offers us an opportunity to support learning and literacy, helping to create lasting educational opportunities for underprivileged students.”
According to Kottani, the partnership did very well, and by the end of last spring, BFBF had completed collecting, sorting, packing, and shipping over 1,000 books overseas.
This school year, the club is back in full swing. Students have been running fall and winter book drives, preparing marketing materials, and planning multiple fundraisers. Each club member is responsible for leading one book drive in Westford or neighboring towns with the help of posters, email campaigns, and the morning announcements to promote their collections. Additionally, students raised money for BFBF through events such as the Holiday Bazaar, Trunk-or-Treat, and raffle baskets.
According to Kottani, after each drive has been completed, the group meets to sort and count the books that have been donated to determine if they have met the ALP’s requirements of being gently used and child friendly. Books that don’t qualify for shipment are donated locally to support those who live closer to home.
Despite their success, the club still faces challenges with managing logistics, maintaining engagement, and balancing schoolwork with the responsibilities of the nonprofit.
“It was hard to keep our club involved, as we only had monthly meetings,” Kottani said. “But we worked through this issue by having a few out-of-school meetups where we packaged books and did tasks that couldn’t be completed in an hour.”
For Newman, the impact that their work has on the community remains the driving force for this club.
“The most meaningful part is knowing that these books are giving another student the chance to learn,” Newman said. “Something as small as one book can really change someone’s world.”
BFBF is now welcoming new members for the 2025-2026 school year. While they have not yet selected the African region where this year’s ALP library will be placed, the decision-making process is underway. Looking ahead, the club hopes to continue to spread literacy, one book drive at a time.
