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2007 Million Dollar Promise Appeal: Power of One

Harriet Van Meter, founder of International Book Project, gathers books for shipment to underserved communities around the globe

More than 40 years ago, a letter to the editor of a national Indian newspaper, The Hindu, became the opening chapter of a story that has changed the lives of millions of people in need around the globe.

During a 1965 trip to India, Kentucky native Harriet Van Meter was inspired by local residents who were passionate about education, despite their country’s extreme poverty. Because of the scarcity of books in the region, Van Meter was shocked to see people waiting in long lines for just the chance to read.

Van Meter, a long-time educator and philanthropist, believed that she could help foster this passion for education by sending donated books from the U.S. to people in impoverished communities throughout the world. She wrote a letter to the editor of The Hindu to see if there was any interest.

Upon her return from India, Van Meter received immediate responses to her offer. A constant flow of letters requesting books began to arrive, and she began sending donated books to people in need from her basement in Lexington, Kentucky. And from that point, The International Book Project (IBP) was born.

Schoolchildren in Uganda read books sent by International Book Project.

Since its humble beginnings, IBP has shipped more than 5 million books to schools, libraries, hospitals and orphanages in developing countries and U.S. communities in need.

IBP now houses more than 400,000 books in its Lexington warehouse, and it continues to receive letters each day from schools, orphanages and libraries in desperate need of books. Since her death in 1997, Van Meter’s legacy travels with each of the books sent by IBP that help promote education and cultural understanding.

During the Annual Meeting, the MDRT Foundation is partnering with IBP to raise awareness of the importance of global literacy and education. The 2007 Million Dollar Promise Appeal is centered on the message that, like Van Meter, everybody has the potential to make a lasting difference in the world. The theme for this year’s appeal is “Power of One.”

The MDRT Foundation is asking all MDRT members to donate $100 or more to the 2007 Million Dollar Promise Appeal at the MDRT Foundation Booth to support the Power of One. Your $100 donation will send 20 books to educate underserved people throughout the world and benefit hundreds of other charitable causes supported by the MDRT Foundation.

During the last 48 years, the MDRT Foundation has channeled the compassion and generosity of each donor into meaningful grants – distributing more than $17.6 million to provide food, shelter, medical care and education for people in need. The MDRT Foundation’s grants, sponsored by MDRT members, reinforce the Power of One in communities around the globe.