Kyle Baldwin ’12 joins the National Day of Action, Sept. 27

On Saturday, Baldwin’s nonprofit organization, My Own Book, is hosting reading events for children from coast to coast.

To illustrate the importance of reading, children across the country will receive new books on Saturday – and they have a first-year Bryant student and his brother to thank.

As part of the National Day of Action, My Own Book, a nonprofit organization created by Kyle Baldwin ’12 (Fairfield, CA) and his brother, Brady, will host “Sharing the Joy of Reading Coast to Coast.” Representatives in each capital city from Providence, RI, to Fairfield, CA, will read to children and distribute new books.

(Left) Kyle Baldwin ’12 (Fairfield, CA) and his younger brother, Brady, founded My Own Book in 2006 to collect new books for underprivileged children. The nonprofit organization hosts “Sharing the Joy of Reading Coast to Coast” on Saturday as part of a national Day of Action.

The program is one of nearly 2,700 events that will take place in all 50 states.

The National Day of Action is the first initiative to come out of the ServiceNation Summit, which Baldwin and his brother attended earlier this month. The Summit brought together more than 600 business and community leaders of all ages and sectors including education, nonprofit, politics, and business. Kyle and Brady were two of the youngest leaders to attend the Summit. It also welcomed presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama, who took part in a presidential forum on service.

Making a difference

As a member of 4-H, the nation’s largest youth organization, Kyle organized a literacy day that led him to realize that not all children have the same access to books. Understanding the importance of reading in a child’s intellectual development, Kyle and his brother established My Own Book to collect new books to be distributed to underprivileged children.

Since its founding in 2006, the organization has distributed nearly 12,700 books.

Kyle says his involvement has opened his eyes to issues affecting people in his neighborhood. “Through our community service we are much more aware of our surroundings and thankful for what we have,” says Kyle.

For more information, visit National Day of Action, My Own Book, and read a past Bryant spotlight on Kyle Baldwin.