This Yale Student Donated 13,000+ Books to Students in Need—In Atlanta and Around the World.

Grant Pool grew up in a small town just outside Atlanta, Georgia, in a family of lifelong educators. His mother worked in Title 1 schools—some of the most under-resourced in the region—while just a few miles away, students at well-funded private schools had everything they needed to thrive.

That contrast stuck with him. And instead of just observing the inequity, Grant decided to do something about it.

What started as a single neighborhood book drive has grown into Pages of Hope, a nonprofit that’s now donated over 13,000 books and school supplies across Georgia and to students in four different countries.

Now an incoming student at Yale University, Grant sat down with us to share how Pages of Hope began, what he’s learned, and the advice he would give to other students coming from a similar background.

#1: Who are you? What inspires you?

Grant: Hi! I’m Grant Pool and I am from a small town called Woodstock right outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Growing up, I’ve always been surrounded by educators. Both my grandma and my mom were teachers. I was always very inspired hearing their stories around teaching.

My mom worked in Title 1 schools. For those who don’t know, those are some of the most under-resourced schools in the region. My grandma was in a similar boat. She always talked about her students who desired education, but didn’t quite have the materials to excel. So just growing up in that environment and hearing about the different students they worked with gave me the initial spark for my project.

The final person I’d say who inspires me is my grandpa. He’s been a lawyer his whole life but recently started writing books. He’s dedicated a couple of them to me and they’re sold internationally — which motivated me a lot because it shows me that it’s never too late to start something.

#2: What does Pages of Hope do?

Grant: Pages of Hope is a registered nonprofit. It began as just a book drive I wanted to start in my local community. We’ve now collected more than 13,000 books and donated them across Atlanta and to four countries internationally.

Our main goal is to fight against book deserts—places where students don’t have books or basic materials at home. That lack of access is a quiet barrier to learning, and we want to change that.

We started with literacy materials, but now we’re also distributing school supplies—anything that can help students thrive in and outside the classroom. Our donors come from across the state and country, and it’s been amazing to see so many people pouring into the future of education.

#3: Wow - 13,000 books. How did you grow Pages of Hope to reach that scale?

Grant: Gosh, I never imagined it would grow this much. When I first started, it was just a simple idea—a way to give back to my community. I thought, “Let’s see how many people are willing to donate. Maybe we can fill a few boxes of books.”

But after that first book drive, something surprising happened. People started coming up to me saying, “You should do another one.”

The response was overwhelming. People from all over reached out asking, “Can I donate books?” Teachers were getting involved, and our small team did everything we could to collect and distribute what came in.

That momentum pushed us to think bigger. We began reaching out to larger organizations. One of our earliest partners was “Books for Africa.” They were the ones who helped us go international—shipping our books to schools in Kenya and Ethiopia.

Looking back, I’m still amazed. I never would’ve guessed that so many people would support our mission.

#4: What was the hardest part about growing Pages of Hope?

Grant: Actually, getting enough support to sort through all our books was a big challenge. We’ve had to have a lot of volunteers to work through it together. It takes a lot of time to sort children’s books over there, and textbooks over here, and then figuring out how to distribute those.

But one of the biggest challenges was just getting started. You know, you’re always scared to take the first step because you’re thinking:

It was definitely scary for me because I felt like I was putting myself out there for criticism by starting Pages of Hope. I was even scared to bring it up to my parents because I was scared they were going to question why I wanted to start this book drive. But we went for it, and look where it’s grown now!

#5: Biggest lessons you’ve learned?

Grant: Things aren’t always what they seem on the surface.

That comes in education. These kids can read, but do they also have the materials they need to excel?

For organizations, a lot of things like that also play it off that they’re okay. But once you dig deeper than the surface, things sometimes aren’t so great on the inside.

That’s been a lesson for me with people in my life, too. You know, you ask someone how they’re going and they say they’re doing good. But sometimes it takes a little digging deeper than the surface to see if something is happening.

#4: Who did you reach out to who ended up changing the trajectory of your journey?

Grant: For Pages of Hope, definitely our “Books for Africa” partnership. I was looking up organizations that work with literacy in Atlanta, stumbled upon “Books for Africa,” and they really caught my eye. So I thought - why not email them?

For myself, a good moment was when I reached out to a girl who previously won a scholarship I was looking at. She set up a mock interview with me and gave me a ton of extra resources and I ended up winning a $20,000 that’s going to help me expand Pages of Hope and afford college in the future.

So that just goes to show - just send a message and ask if you’re interested in something.

#5: What resources/advice do you want to highlight for high school students who may be underprivileged & want to do more?

Grant: I come from a small town and went to a very small school. It was a great place, but it didn’t offer a lot of formal programs or big-name opportunities.

What helped me was looking outside of school.

Another great one is the Governor’s Honors Program here in Georgia. You get to live on a college campus and dive deep into a subject you care about for a few weeks. Programs like these opened doors for me that my school couldn’t.

So if you’re in a similar situation—don’t be afraid to look beyond your bubble. There’s so much out there if you’re willing to go find it.

Stay Connected

Grant’s Linked-In.