Lucas Gabriel Donates Over 20,000 Books to NYC Schools in Need

Last year, resident Lucas Gabriel donated over 10,000 books to at-risk youth in New York City, and this year he nearly doubled that number! The books are donated to the Center for Fiction, a non-profit organization which donates all types of books to the libraries of impoverished schools in New York.

Gabriel, a sophomore of Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, wanted to top the number of books he collected last year during his book drive and wanted to make sure that the books this year were received by the children while school was still in session, which did not necessarily get to the children since Gabriel made the donation on April 22 last year, according to Gabriel's mother, Katrina.

Katrina and her husband Chris helped their son sort through the precisely 20,321 books and categorize them by age suitability. "While we are not hoarders, we certainly did look like them during the height of the book drive in November and December," Katrina said. "Every hallway and floor space in the house was taken up by books and boxes of books, 345 boxes adorned the house throughout the holidays. We were able to clear a spot for the Christmas tree only 2 days before Christmas. It was fun for the whole family, we all love books!" 

Gabriel started collecting for the drive in August so that he would be able to reach his goal of 20,000 books. Katrina said that her son began by attending several garage sales every weekend and asking the owners if they would be willing to donate the books they were unable to sell. Gabriel provided them with information on the book drive and his contact information and most happily agreed.

Every weekend throughout the fall, Gabriel went door to door in Manalapan with flyers in hand explaining and promoting his book drive, which really helped jump start the book collection, Katrina said.

Finally, Gabriel placed bins in schools in November where students, faculty and parents could place books for donation. Participating schools included , , the and Yellow Duck Preparatory. Christrian Brothers also participated again and alone collected about 4,000 books. The Gallery of Dance owner, Karen Dolan, placed a bin at her Freehold school and was able to collect a couple thousand books.

Since it was the holiday season, people were in a giving mood; so, despite busy holiday schedules, people took the time to donate, according to Katrina. 

Gabriel also took to social media to help publicize the book drive, using Facebook to ask friends to donate and spread the word. Additionally, Katrina said she drove Gabriel to different towns - from Howell, to Red Bank, to Old Bridge -  once a week to collect books. "Sometimes it was five books, sometimes 500, he was excited about all donations," Katrina said.

The Preston family, of Freehold, donated 500 books in honor of their son Graeme, who died three years ago after being struck by a car while he was skateboarding. The Preston family said that the book drive was something Grame would have loved to participate in, according to Katrina.

Dana Scotto and her children, of Manalapan, also took the time to reach out to everyone they knew and were able to collect several thousand books for Gabriel.

Last Thursday, Gabriel put his pencil down after his midterms and began loading a rented 15-foot truck with all of the donated books. Gabriel, along with his friend Ciro Saverino and Gabriel's father, Chris, spent three hours loading the truck for the Friday morning trip to New York.

Gabriel and his parents drove up to the Center for Fiction the next day, which Katrina said "was just as exciting as the first time." The next three hours were spent unloading the books from the truck to the organization.

This spring, Gabriel has decided to visit one of the school who will receive some of the donated books which Gabriel and his family spent so long working to accumulate.

"He is so thrilled that many more children and their families will have books to read and enjoy the way he does and it didn't cost anyone anything, except their time...well worth it!" Katrina exclaimed.

Don't be surprised when you see Gabriel out again this coming summer and fall looking for more book as - you guessed it - his goal for next year is to collect 30,000 books!