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USC student collecting books for refugees

By Paul Paterra staff Writer ppaterra@observer-Reporter.Com 4 min read
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Matthew Bordenstein

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Courtesy of Matthew Bordenstein

Matthew Bordenstein with some of the books he’s collected for Bookworm Global

Matthew Bordenstein’s efforts have benefitted many refugees in the Pittsburgh area.

The junior at Upper St. Clair High School is an ambassador for Bookworm Global, a California-based, teen-led literacy organization. Since February 2022, Bordenstein has collected more than 10,000 books and donated almost 8,000 of them to help refugees combat educational and vocational inequities.

Bookworm Global was started during the COVID-19 pandemic by Alana Weisberg, a teenager from the state of California who noticed that kids in underserved communities lost access to quality reading material when schools and libraries were closed.

“She started this organization to get books to underserved communities,” Bordenstein said. “It exploded from there.”

Bordenstein, 17, heard about Bookworm Global through social media and his interest was piqued. He wanted to be involved.

Bordenstein is the Pittsburgh Ambassador and refugee specialist for Bookworm Global, the first ambassador outside of the state of California.

“I love to read, so this felt like a good fit to me,” Bordenstein said.

He posted a request for books to Facebook and received a considerable response.

Most of the donations came through social media, friends and family donations and a partnership with the Upper St. Clair Public Library.

“We’ve raised money and bought a few books, but 90% have come from social media and people donating,” Bordenstein said.

Those interested in donating can contact Bordenstein at bookworm.pittsburgh@gmail.com, and arrangements will be made to collect the donations.

Jeff Kinney, author of the popular “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series, read about Bordenstein and donated three box sets of books. The books were accompanied by a note in which Kinney told Bordenstein he loved what he was doing and wanted to help.

“That was one of the coolest things that happened,” Bordenstein said. “That was a whoa moment for me.”

Bordenstein has been donating books to six organizations in Pittsburgh that work on English literacy for refugees and other underserved groups: South Hills Interfaith Movement (SHIM), Hello Neighbor, Jewish Family Community Services, Bhutanese Community of Pittsburgh Association, Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center and the Sarah Heinz House.

“Pittsburgh has a lot of refugees for whom English isn’t their first language and simple reads are good for them because it allows them to understand it more easily,” he said. “I made that my focus, getting books to refugees to help them learn English.”

He has participated in events such as are World Refugee Day at Schenley Plaza, Trunk or Treat, family picnics, back-to-school events and a Bridge Builders book fair. Bridge Builders is an after-school program for resettled refugees ages 5 to 15.

In April, Bordenstein was selected as a Carson Scholar, so named for Ben Carson, former secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The program recognizes students in grades 4-12 who are committed to making a difference in the community.

He also was named a Youth Service America Everyday Young Hero in March 2022 and won the InnerView Ambassador Award for more than 100 hours of service based on the United Nations Global Goals.

“It was an amazing feeling to know I got to the point that I’m making such a difference that it’s getting national recognition,” Bordenstein said.

He has started a Bookworm Global Club at Upper St. Clair High School, and the movement has stretched into Boyce Middle School, where a competition netted about 2,000 books.

Nikki Colella, Family and Consumer Sciences teacher at Upper St. Clair High School, is the teacher sponsor for the Bookworm Global Club at the high school. She became involved after making a donation to Bordenstein.

“We started talking about his efforts to provide books for those that don’t have access otherwise,” Colella said. “I loved what he is doing. Matthew is a really special kid with great work ethic, drive and a big heart.”

He’s even training people in other states such as New Jersey, Georgia and Massachusetts to become involved in Bookworm Global. In fact, the native of Boston, Mass., created a partnership with a local public library there and raised funds to purchase books from their library sale to give to the International Institute of New England. Plus, he’s donated many books from the “Who Was” series to Jewish Family Services for refugees in Michigan.

Bordenstein wants to continue his Bookworm Global efforts and hopes it keeps going once he moves on to college, where he wants to pursue a business degree and eventually work with companies that give back.

“I would love to someday have my own company that gives back to the refugee community in America in some way,” Bordenstein said.

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