Turning the Final Page: Reflections from Grace Jecelin

Wow! It feels like it was a couple of weeks ago that I was writing my very first blog for the Maryland Book Bank, and now I’m drafting my last one.

For those who don’t know me - hi! I’m Grace, and I’ve spent the last 9 months working for the Book Bank through a program called MarylandCorps, which allows young people throughout the state to engage in a Service Year. After graduating from Temple University in May 2025, this job seemed like the perfect opportunity to begin my career. I’m a lifelong reader and I have a passion for social justice issues - learning about them, engaging with them, and trying to put a small dent into solving them. The Book Bank seemed like the place for me!

During my first month, I was blown away by the Book Bank operation. Before Col (my MarylandCorps counterpart) and I joined the team, there were 3 staff members directing, coordinating, and facilitating our programs. All of the gaps were filled by volunteers, including lead volunteers, recurring volunteers, open volunteer groups, and organizational/corporate volunteer groups. This was truly inspiring to me. People choosing to spend their time engaging with and increasing literacy in Maryland students made me believe in humanity in such a dark time in the non-profit world.

From October 1st through November 12th, during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, I found solace through our work. Filling the Bookmobiles with diverse, accurate, and simply gorgeous books; writing blogs about the lingering effects of the pandemic, books as a fundamental human right, and children’s books in the age of A.I.; assisting our patrons during public hours to find the book they’d been searching for for weeks; and leading our volunteer groups for the first time filled me with passion and provided me with an outlet for my anger at the injustices of the world.

As I’ve gone through the year, the urgency of literacy has never been more apparent to me. Literacy intersects with every single social justice issue you could possibly imagine, and it makes my tenacity for our work ever-present.

The volunteers, many of whom I’ve come to know personally through time spent sorting in the warehouse, share that same tenacity, even if they don’t share much else in common. One of my favorite volunteering sessions of the year was an open volunteer session on Tuesday, March 17th - St. Patrick’s Day! Our volunteers included 3 retired women (shoutout to Holly, Donna, and Alice), 4 college students (hailing from Morgan State University, University of Maryland, and Johns Hopkins University), and a mother-daughter duo who were using the daughter’s high school spring break to gain some service hours. Their reasons for stepping into the warehouse varied, but the outcome was the same. They sorted over 2,200 books that day while we chatted, listened to music, and snacked on some donuts. Thank you, volunteers, for, at the very least, brightening my day, and, at the most, playing a direct part in handing a child their very first book!

Over the past 9 months, I’ve gotten the chance to fall deeper in love with the state I grew up in and get to know my community in ways I never thought possible. I took the Bookmobile to the Maryland Zoo Trunk-or-Treat, learned how to use a pallet jack, set up a free book fair for the children and their families in the Department of Juvenile Services, helped women and children from a nearby homeless shelter pick books in the Book Bank, and met Ravens icon Roquan Smith! I made displays for the Book Bank celebrating National Poetry Month, Black History Month, Mary Pope Osborne’s birthday, Women’s History Month, International Picture Book Month, and so much more. I’ve worked with 2-year-olds on the Bookmobile all the way to 85-year-olds coming in to volunteer. And, I’ve gotten to spend most of my days in a shared warehouse, where everyone coming in to work pours into our community like it’s their job - because it is.

None of what I’ve done this year would’ve happened without the rest of our team: Mark, our trailblazing Executive Director; Kim, our fearless Program Director; J, our warm-hearted Lead Program Coordinator; Col, our clever Warehouse Coordinator; and Charonda, our steadfast Program Associate. We help each other, care for each other, and stand up for each other. What more could you want in your local Book Bank team?

I’m beyond grateful for the opportunity I’ve had this year, and I’m humbled to have played a small part in the work being done at the Book Bank.