Kurti, now a junior, came up with the idea a year ago and has already
been able to raise a lot of money.
“The big drive was in November in my school. We raised $30,000 for
books so that was a really big milestone and really exciting to see so
many kids excited to help,” she said. Not only that, ” People reached out
and were like, ‘Hey we want to start it at our school.’ Most are in New York
City, but there are couple upstate and out of state.”
Kurti is in student government, which helped her spread the idea.
She was also aided by one of the school’s assistant principals, who she
approached with the idea. “I told Ms. Kelly Nottingham the idea and she
loved it,” Kurti recalled. “She said, ‘Let’s do it’ and that’s when it took off.
I have a lot of people helping me with it, volunteers helping with packing
and shipping and receiving donations.”
Kurti’s parents also helped out.
“When I told them about the idea, they actually went to Albania and
hand-delivered boxes of books to schools where I have cousins,” she
said. “They were really happy about it. They’re proud.”
Kurti’s main motivation was hearing about those less fortunate,
especially in Albania. “It made it feel like I had to give back,” she said. “It
felt more like a moral obligation than something to do for fun.”
Novel Girls is currently sending books to Albania, Ukraine, the
Philippines and India. Books will be sent to South Africa and Thailand
following the next book drive.
So far, the feedback has been very positive.
“I get a lot of emails,” Kurti said. “The people in these countries don’t
have a lot of internet access so it’s difficult but I have received some.
Also, some schools send thank-you cards and photos, and that makes
me really happy.”
Balancing her studies and activities — including being speaker of the
school assembly and a member of the varsity volleyball and chess teams
— with getting Novel Girls off the ground has been challenging.
“But there are 24 hours in a day,” she said.
Kurti plans to continue Novel Girls when she heads to college to study
biotechnology. A website that will allow people from all over the country
to contribute is in the works.
“If you want to make a difference, just go for it,” she said. “You can
start small. Just go out there and try it.
QNS.COM
20 SPRING 2018