Ardsley Sophomore Gives Back, Big Time

A bad break for Jamie Stein in sixth grade, when she suffered from a broken leg, has turned out to be a very good break for scores of service men and women here and abroad.

For Stein, now a 15-year-old sophomore at Ardsley High School, working with a physical therapist who had been a marine in Iraq and Afghanistan was truly life altering. She listened carefully when the therapist spoke about his tours of duty and how much “it helped them, and took them out of the world they’re in,” when they had books to read, said Stein.

With her mother’s encouragement, Stein launched a project last year—“Books to Soldiers”—to send donated books to soldiers serving abroad and recuperating in veterans’ hospitals.  Her first two collections amassed more than 23,000 books, which were sent to Ft. Dix in New Jersey, Ft. Drum in Watertown, NY, as well as the VA hospital in Montrose. Currently she’s received about 14,000 books that will be distributed, in collaboration with another group, “United for Troops,” on April 9.

Those efforts earned Stein recognition from The Volunteer Center of United Way in Tarrytown as a New York Life Youth Leader. She will receive the award at a luncheon on April 15.

Stein publicized her project through flyers that she and her family distributed in the community. She organized a book drive at Ardsley Middle School and has gotten donations from the libraries in Ardsley, Greenburgh and Hastings, as well as from Iona College and the Scarsdale’s Women’s Club. There’s a collection box in the Ardsley High School lobby and at Solomon Schechter High School; last year her family’s synagogue, Shaarei Tikvah, in Scarsdale, also had a box available for the donations. Especially popular are mysteries, non-fiction and best-sellers.

For now, the project is very much a family affair. Besides packing and transporting the books, Stein enlisted her parents to store the books in their house, garage and basement.

Each book has a bookplate, designed by Stein and her father, saying “thank you for your service,” which “makes it more personal,” Stein said. Her parents also help her put the book plates into each volume.

“I’d love for someone else to take it, and help,” said Stein, who’s been a volunteer since second grade when she spent lunch hours working with special needs children. “I’m trying to expand it and to have other people take it over when I’m out of high school.”

It’s a project that came from her heart. “I didn’t need to do community service,” said Stein, who is also a varsity athlete on AHS’s tennis, ski and golf teams.

Her modesty has made as much of an impact as the results she’s achieved.

 “We’re so proud of her,” said Ardsley High School guidance counselor, Elizabeth Jensen. “This grew from a small project, and now there are so many places involved from around the county. This is something that came from her totally.”

What motivates Stein is seeing how much the books mean to the soldiers.

 “The greatest part was when we were at Fort Drum and people were immediately opening the boxes and grabbing the books,” she said. “It was seeing that what I was doing was worthwhile.”

 Anyone interested in donating books or finding out more about the project can contact apstein@optonline.net

Thanks to Abbe P. Stein for the photos accompanying this story.