Fort Worth seventh-grader collects books to help teachers help area students

Teachers could use a few more students like Natalie Strausz.

Strausz, a seventh-grader at Trinity Valley School, has been spending the past few months since March collecting picture books to donate to the Welman Project in Fort Worth. As of this article she had collected almost 1,100 books.

The Welman Project is a free resource for teachers, distributing surplus and donated materials for reuse in schools.

“I want to be a teacher when I grow up and I think that picture books are important resources for teachers to have in their classrooms,” Strausz said.

Strausz said her initial goal was to get around 150 books donated, which she then reset to 300, 500 and 1,000.

“Each time I set a number, I quickly achieved the goal, so I added more,” she said, adding, “I currently have 1,071 books and have reached my goal. I am still accepting books, though.”

Strausz said among the many who donated books to her were extended family, her fourth-grade teacher and families from school.

And, of course, she’s an avid reader herself.

“When I am not in school, I can be found with my head in a book, deep into a story,” she said.

Collecting the books began as a bat mitzvah project, a Jewish celebration of a girl turning 13 years old.

“As a part of your bar (boys) or bat mitzvah, our congregation requires that you have to do a project that helps your community,” Strausz said.

“At the actual ceremony (hers will be in November), you read the week’s Torah portion in Hebrew and you also give a speech about the meaning of the Torah portion and your community service.”

Her mother, Kate Marshall, said she appreciates how the milestone of assuming a new role in the religious community accompanies engaging in direct action to serve the larger community.

“I hope that Natalie is learning that there is value and joy in working to improve one small corner of the universe,” Marshall said. “I want her to embrace the idea that what matters is how we act in this world, and that doing this sort of work is one way in which we can live a meaningful life.”

This isn’t the first time Strausz has participated in a service project. She took part in her school’s annual canned food drive. With Girls on the Run, a national nonprofit organization for girls in grades 3-8, she has collected blankets for a dog shelter. And with her former Girl Scout troop, she participated in a sock drive for homeless people.

“I’m very proud of her. I think this is a powerful learning experience and that all the steps in the process are part of the learning experience,” Marshall said. “She loves books, but we started by asking the Welman Project what they needed so we could support their goals.

“Then, Natalie built a website for our friends and family and she learned a little about making accessible content for the web. As books came in, she wrote thank you notes to each donor.”

Strausz is also a member of the National Charity League and plans to participate in service opportunities with them, she said.

As for her current project, she added, “I believe that every kid should have the privilege of having great books in their classroom to encourage them to be excited to read. With this project, I hope to give teachers the books they need for their classroom so that their students will enjoy learning.”