Share the Gift: A Movement?

When I launched my Share the Gift Double Kindle 3G Giveaway in August, I dreamed it would spark a movement that would encourage others to share their gifts, to pass along their blessings in order to make the world a better place. Winner Sandra Marchetto is helping to make that dream come true.

Sandra received a Kindle 3G for winning my contest on December 16, 2011.

According to Share the Gift guidelines, she also chose a second Kindle 3G recipient--her son Willie, a college student who will now be able to download textbooks whenever he chooses, thanks to Kindle 3G capabilities.

But Sandra's generosity does not stop there. Prior to receiving her new Kindle 3G, Sandra owned a Kindle equipped for WiFi only. She plans to share her love for books by passing that Kindle on to a third recipient.

And that's not all. Now that Sandra's book collection is shifting to e-books, she has "boxes and boxes" of paperbacks to share. While she will keep the hard copy titles she holds most dear, she is donating the rest in manageable allotments to local residential centers and nursing homes. "They are loving it," she reports.

Sandra's desire to share the gift of reading began long before my contest, long before my novel Delivery was published, even long before Kindles existed.

When Willie was 18 months old, Sandra quit work to be a stay-at-home mom. At 7 A.M. on their first day at home, he carried a book into the living room and asked her to read to him. "As a child," she recalls, "Willie would sit for as long as someone would read to him. Most young children will only sit for a few pages, but he would go back for book after book." Sandra, a busy mom, took the time to read those stories to her son.

Sandra is a firm believer that the earlier children start reading, the more likely it is that they will develop a love for it. Her experience lends proof. At age 2 1/2, Willie loved books so much that he even read to his puppy Ginger while "sitting on his backup book . . . to make sure he had plenty of material to keep her interested."

Willie enjoys reading because Sandra shared a gift--her own love for books.

Now it's YOUR turn. Did a caring adult take time to read to you when you were a child? What role do books play in your life? How might you share your love for reading during the new year and beyond? I'll be looking for your answers in the comment section below.

Share the Gift Double Kindle 3G Giveaway Winner

Thanks to ALL who participated in this fun giveaway. Over the past 19 weeks, I've enjoyed your Weekend Peek In questions and comments, and I've had a great time getting to know each of you better. You have enriched my life, and I am grateful.

Although the Share the Gift giveaway has officially ended, please drop in each Friday because I have exciting plans for continued blog posts. I also plan to hold more fun giveaways in the future, so stay tuned.

Today's winner will share the gift by choosing a second Kindle 3G recipient. I encourage us all to share our time, our energy, our talents, our material possessions, our JOY to enrich the lives of others. In the generous spirit of Delivery's Mom Robinson, let's make this world a better place.

And now, the moment we've all been waiting for. (Drumroll, please.)

The Share the Gift Double Kindle 3G Giveaway winner is . . .

Sandra Marchetto!

The winning question Sandra submitted is one I haven't answered on Weekend Peek In:

If tomorrow you had to choose between drawing/painting, photography, and writing, which would you choose and why?

Oh, my, what a challenging question! If I'm ever faced with that choice, I would pick writing because I believe creating stories provides more opportunities for me to touch the lives of others in meaningful ways.

Congratulations to Sandra, and Merry Christmas to all! I'll see you back here next week.