State Honoree

Ashley McNeill, 18, of Wilmington, Del., a senior at Cab Calloway School of the Arts, has spent hundreds of hours over the past eight years helping to collect and distribute books for children and adults in need, so that they could discover the magic of reading. "I've always loved to read and hope to be an author some day," said Ashley, so when her stepmother co-founded a nonprofit literacy organization in 2002 that encourages reading by giving away books, Ashley wanted to get involved.

At first, she helped sort, clean and label books. Then she began delivering children's book baskets, assisted in the construction of several onsite libraries, and helped run book collection drives. Next, she reached out to friends and classmates to get them to join her in volunteering. Last year, while Ashley interned at a Boys & Girls Club facility in Wilmington, "I saw every day the lack of age-appropriate reading materials at the center," she said. So, Ashley cleaned three rooms that housed the existing collections, brought in hundreds of brand new books, and organized them into three libraries, each for a specific age group. She also has put together hundreds of "book packs" as holiday gifts for underprivileged children, and assisted with large-scale book donations to schools, prisons, and senior centers. "By redistributing books to people in need, we can make a huge difference in the lives of children and adults everywhere," Ashley said.