A Florida Teen’s Love of Books Inspires the World to Read

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Natasha Agarwal. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light. 

While Natasha Agarwal always loved to read, it was the realization that some kids lack access to books that motivated her to make a difference. As an eighth grade student during the COVID-19 pandemic, Natasha started seeing news stories on TV about kids across the country who lacked access to books. This was a “disconnect” for Natasha, who always had access to bookstores and libraries.  

“That really made an impact on me, and got me upset – the fact that people didn’t even have one thing at home to read when I had maybe dozens of books in my library at home,” says Natasha, who started delving into statistics about literacy. She was shocked to discover the disparities, like how 61% percent of low-income families have no books at all in their homes for their children. But it was also what inspired her to make a difference.  

“It really got me thinking that early childhood literacy is the foundation for educational and future success,” explains Natasha, now 17. “That inspired me to think about ways that I could take gently used books that I’ve finished reading and are sitting on my shelf and distribute them to kids who don’t have books.” 

Natasha decided to host her first book drive at school and was shocked to discover that she and her friends managed to bring in 3,000 books. They were then donated to a local organization called the Guadalupe Center, which works to break the cycle of poverty through education. But the book drive’s success also sparked an idea in Natasha to think bigger and start her own nonprofit organization. 

“Before that point, I really had no idea that that was even an option,” says Natasha. “But it was after that that I decided to turn it into a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.” 

Four years later, Natasha’s organization BelieveNBooks has distributed 120,000 books through 25 community organizations. One of her favorite components of running the organization is seeing the joy on children’s faces when they’re handed a book to call their own. While they may only be 3 or 4 years old, their excitement is palpable. 

“They get super excited when they’re told that they’re able to take home the books because this is the start of their home library,” says Natasha.  

The Boys & Girls Club of Collier County is one of the organizations that has benefitted from Natasha’s work. Chief Development Officer Jennifer Nelson recalls that it was a recent donation from BelieveNBooks that provided the organization, which serves children from ages 6 to 18, with the opportunity to participate in summer reading groups and book clubs. 

“Normally we don’t get a ton of book donations, and the books Natasha provides are incredible,” says Nelson, who noted that the most recent donation from BelieveNBooks provided multiple copies of the same book, so fourth and fifth graders could actively discuss each book with each other.  

The previous summer, BelieveNBooks provided reading material for younger children at the Boys & Girls Club, along with information that allowed them to log into a website and read along with a video independently. 

“It’s great if you have a parent or a teacher who does that, but that doesn’t always happen in the summer,” Nelson continued. “Natasha took it upon herself to do the narration and get all those pieces figured out, too. That was pretty big.” 

There are now 10 chapters of BelieveNBooks, including one in Ghana. Natasha’s interest in Africa led her to write her own children’s book, Tales of African Women Trailblazers, which highlights the journeys of 21 African-born women who have overcome different forms of adversity. Natasha wrote the book in 2023 after she began researching the educational gap on different continents and discovered that women were disproportionately affected in Africa. 

“I really wanted to show them the world of possibility out there. I think a lot of times exposure is so limited, and that’s part of the reason that they’re not able to even envision a better future for themselves,” Natasha explains. “So that’s really the inspiration of the book.” 

Now a high school senior, Natasha hopes to continue to develop new chapters of the organization. But she’s also hopeful that someday she can visit Ghana to see her organization’s work in action as they distribute the book she penned herself as it’s distributed to young girls.  

“It’d be really cool, I think, to meet those girls and to be able to see how the book affects them,” says Natasha, who notes that all the proceeds of the book, which is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, go toward the distribution effort. 

Despite the current international success of BelieveNBooks, Natasha says one of the hardest parts was simply getting started. But she hopes that people take her story as an inspiration to make a difference, no matter how small.  

“It’s okay to be uncertain about how much you want to do or where your service is going to go, but I say just pick a cause you’re passionate about,” says Natasha. “Obviously for me, that was books.” 

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Natasha? Find local volunteer opportunities.