GIVING BACK IN A BIG WAY. Marshall and Miles Meeks, pictured, donated 430 books to the  Give a Kid a Book program this year. (Submitted photos)

When 12-year-old Marshall Meeks, a seventh grader at DeLong Middle School in Eau Claire, was looking for an idea to fulfill his 4-H Youth Leadership Project, he didn’t have to go far. He chose the Give a Kid a Book program at the Friends of the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, which donates 3,000 to 4,000 books a year to local agencies. Now entering its 31st year, the program continues its mission to give every participating child a new book during the holiday season. 

Marshall and his 10-year-old brother, Miles, are members of the Pleasant Hill Go-Getters 4-H Club in Eau Claire County. Together, they exceeded their original goal – 400 books – this year by donating 430 books (some of which they received directly, others purchased with monetary donations) from 77 individual donors across 21 states and one other country, Nepal.

Meeks brothers showing where donations came from.

With the help of family and friends, the Meeks brothers collected close to 13% of the 3,357 books the program collected for the entire year of 2024. During the holiday season alone, 2,844 books were donated, with the brothers’ donation equating to 15% of that total.

According to Marshall, even as toddlers, he and Miles always loved reading. Now, he shared in an interview, “My brother and I still love to read.” While Marshall is currently leaning towards fantasy books and all things magic and dragons, such as the series Eragon and Keepers of the Lost Cities, his brother Miles is into fantasy, monsters, and realistic fiction, such as Wonder and the Front Desk series.

During the height of COVID-19 when the boys spent much of their time at home, their parents Sara and Chris told them not all families had access to an abundance of books like they did, from libraries or otherwise, nor did all parents and caregivers have time to read to their children like they did.

The boys felt passionate about balancing this inequity by giving back and paying it forward – with books – thus selecting the Give a Kid a Book program for an at-home service learning project which they continued into 2021. In 2020, the family donated 329 books to the program; in 2021, they donated 291 books. They focused on other projects in 2022 and 2023 before returning to the Give a Kid a Book program in 2024.

Because of their prior experience, Marshall was able to take charge of the program as his 4-H Youth Leadership Project, applying marketing and technology skills to increase the number of donations in 2024. As for 2025, the sky’s the limit. 

Buying more books to donate to the program.

Learn more about the Give a Kid a Book program at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library online.