About Elizabeth

Hello!! My name is Elizabeth Simons and I'm the Gold Award Girl Scout who created Reading For All. Since I was a kid, I've loved reading and the journey stories can take you on. I knew I wanted other children and families to have the same experience with reading that I did! I worked on the project during my junior and senior years of high school and received the Gold Award in 2024. Besides reading, I love playing tennis on my high school and club team, baking, musical theater, performing in band as a percussionist, and spending time with my friends and family!

Continue reading to learn more about why I chose to create Reading For All as my Gold Award project!

The Story Behind Reading For All

I got the idea for this project during the summer of 2021. While hanging out with some friends and their families, one mom reminded us of an animal book project we completed in elementary school. She mentioned that when she was helping a student in our grade research his animal, he said, "I didn't know you get so much information from books." It made me so sad to know that not every kid has the opportunity to learn and escape into new worlds from books. I immediately knew that I wanted to do something about it. Project Home was one organization that came to mind since I had volunteered there previously. I reached out to their staff, and we determined that it would be the perfect spot to complete my project. To help collect materials, I partnered with two churches, Centennial United Methodist and Gloria Dei, to hold drives to have enough books to fill the space. Reading For All took over 100 hours and about a year and a half to complete, but all the time and energy were worth it. I hope that at least one kid and family can benefit from the resources on this website and the reading space at Project Home!

This project wouldn't have been possible without all of the help and support I received!

THANK YOU TO...

Donna Franklin and Debbie Barr for being my contacts and support at Project Home. Your patience and help allowed me to complete this project for the families at Project Home!

the Congregations of Gloria Dei Luthern Church and Centennial United Methodist Church for your incredible donations of over 1,000 books. The donations allowed the new space at Project Home to be full of incredible books for all ages!

My family and friends for supporting me every step of the way. Whether you sorted books, made donations, or helped build furniture, your help meant the world! This project wouldn't have happened without you!

Belle Nelson for being my mentor throughout the project. Your ideas and brainstorming sessions helped me to create the project into the success it is today!