“It gave me hope. I wasn’t alone.” Girl Scouts CEO Sylvia Acevedo said those words about her local childhood library in yesterday’s keynote speaker session.
Acevedo grew up in a very poor household. Her parents were immigrants from Mexico and Acevedo spoke about the educational and civic opportunities her public library gave her, saying it was her first experience with civic engagement. The library, funded by the community and for the community, is a place where people of all backgrounds come together.
Girl Scouts also helped Acevedo become the woman she is today, teaching her that she could make a plan to achieve her dreams. She shared how learning to sell cookies to fund her planned activities taught her perseverance, resilience, and that she could achieve her dreams no matter what anyone else thought.
Acevefo said that she wrote her book to share her story, so that kids like her could know that it is possible to achieve whatever they dream of. She told us that she gets that feedback from kids who have read her book. “Your story is like mine,” they say, “so if you can do it, I can do it.” It was an excellent, inspiring talk about the importance of what we librarians do every day and the importance of sticking our shelves with mirrors and windows for all kinds of kids.
”Libraries change lives. I know you do; you changed mine.” – Sylvia Acevedo.
— Abby Johnson