This whole Book Drive thing started out as a birthday present to my mom. She told me about the kids she worked with during her field work in her social work courses. It was obvious that she couldn't get the kids out of her mind. As I listened to her, it occurred to me; how about a book drive?

So, here we are. It's the Saturday before Mother's day almost a year later. My mother is now working full time at the shelter.

But, let's go back a little. At the time my mother started doing the field work at the Oasis Youth Shelter, she was working full time and going to school to get her Master's degree in social work. She was also working full time at a mental institution. She worked exclusively with the violent patients.

She would come home exhausted and wondering if she had made any difference whatsoever. She was attacked many times. But, it was never anything she couldn't handle; until one of the patients tried to kill her. By sneaking up on her and strangling her with a wet towel. Luckily, she fought him off. She was out for a while because of the damage she did to her foot from kicking him so hard in the balls to get him off her. But, she fought him off.

She was ready to give up after that. She was questioning why she had even chosen to go into social work (its a question she has asked many times before and since and will probably ask her entire life). But, after recuperating, she went back to work.

Then she started her field work at the youth shelter. It was hard. She spent plenty of her days thinking about how unfair life is. And that's when I knew there had to be something I could do to help. My mom was the one who first instilled in me how unfair life is.

She would tell me how people would look at me because I am black or a woman or both and judge me before they even made eye contact with me. "Life is just unfair" she would say. Then she would tell me that people deal with the unfairness every day by finding an outlet for it. But, now she is constantly thinking about what these kids have to go through and how unfair it is.

My mother is the oldest of 11 children, the mother of 5 children and the grandmother of 2 children (I won't even get into the number of nieces and nephews she has). She knows a great deal about how unfair life is. She also knows how important it is to have options. She knows how important it is for a child to see a world outside of themselves. In working with the kids in the shelter she has seen how easy it is for a child to limit his or her self as a means of survival.

And for many of the kids she comes into contact with survival is the only goal. This is why options are important. By giving a kid an idea or an inspiration they can expand their goal beyond survival. They are given a picture of a life that they could have or an idea of a life they might want. The key is to spark an interest.

A book seems to be the best and easiest way to create that spark. If one eleven year old girl on the verge of dropping out of school can find herself by keeping her own private journal, then I've done what I set out to do. If one 14 year old boy can decide that his life is worth something by reading Sidney Poitier's memoirs, then I've truly accomplished something.

And that is all this is about. My mother has been a mother for most of her life. Before she had kids she was helping to raise her siblings. Then she raised us. Now she is spoiling her grandchildren, while trying to provide support and hope for children who are in no way related to her.

Sometimes I think she was the reason Mother's Day was invented. With that in mind, I thought I would do something a little extra for the book drive in celebration. So, for this week only, not only will I match any donation you make to the shelter, I will double my contribution. For every book you donate this week I will donate 2.

You have to hurry. The week will fly by before you even realize it. I'm posting this a day early just to give you a head start. Seriously, if you only thought about donating but wasn't sure, this is the time to do it, now is the time. You only have to donate 1 book and the shelter will get three.

If this week isn't good for you, don't worry. The regular matching program is still in effect until July 13th. And there are tons of other ways you can help. The cheapest way is to simply recommend a book for the wish list. Just leave a comment or drop me a line- chasitymoody [AT] ifeelpithy [DOT] com.

So after all that, I finally get to the point. Happy Mother's Day Mom!