Local teen starts Little Free Library

Published 10:00 am Saturday, August 15, 2015

What started out as one local teen’s project for Girl Scouts quickly grew into a community-wide effort to increase literacy in Baldwin County. 

Sixteen-year-old Dana Probst, member of St. Stephens Episcopal Church, was honored by Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia with the Girl Scout Gold Award — the highest honor within the organization. 

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Young women who earn the Girl Scout Gold Award receive the honor through a project, which exemplifies courage, confidence and character, and makes a difference locally and globally, say officials.  

Probst chose to create a Little Free Library to help provide reading materials for the needy in the community. 

“Each girl had to pick their own project, and Dana chose to make a Little Free Library because there were several in Macon but there wasn’t one in Baldwin County. She wanted to make sure it was at a place where it could serve the underserved in the community,” said Marie Probst, Dana’s mother. 

The Little Free Library is located at the Chard Wray Food pantry. 

“She chose to put the library at Chard Wray because people that come there probably don’t have the opportunity to go to the library or they don’t have enough money to buy books,” Probst said. 

The library was officially installed Thursday, Aug. 6. 

Dr. Douglas Goings and Dana built Snoopy’s house to serve as the library. 

Anyone can come to the food pantry to utilize the free library.

“People don’t have to have made a donation to Chard Wray to be able to use the library. They can come in and get a book, return it, keep it, or swap it out for another. And we are always accepting more donations of books,” she added. 

The project got its first large donation in February.  

“She used her own babysitting money to get this started and she attended the literacy fair back in February to get the word out and get some donations for the library,” Probst said. 

Dana took part in the third annual literacy fair, sponsored by the Baldwin County school district, in February and received five boxes of books, collected by school officials from each school in the district. 

She has registered her Little Free Library with the national registry. 

“We are waiting on the plaque to come in, which will go on Snoopy’s door. Once she has the charter number for the library, she can put it on the global list of Little Free Libraries.”  

Probst said Dana learned about the literacy rate and poverty and how the two are connected. 

“This project taught her about the causes and consequences of poverty and how one person can make a difference in the community,” Probst said. 

As part of her recognition, the council has asked Dana to monitor the Little Free Library for three months and observe how well the community responds to it. 

“Dana will monitor the use of the project for three months and reach out to the community to try to begin a reading program. I think that would be a great next step for this project.”

To use the Little Free Library or make a book donation, visit the Chard Wray Food Pantry on Broad Street. 

Children’s and adult books are accepted.