Blind Date with a Book: Building a Community
The News
Keystone Moldova English and Keystone Moldova Romanian
Keystone Human Services (KHS) is a non-profit organization that is a part of a global movement to provide support and expertise to people with disabilities.
Bree Dougherty is building a community of readers and book lovers.
When she started in the Adult Community Autism Program (ACAP), she was in her early 20s. Like many people in their 20s, she was trying to make her way in the world. Through ACAP, she worked with staff who supported her with her goals based on her strengths, dreams, and aspirations.
She now has her own apartment, and since she’s a very creative person, she has created a well-organized space in her home to craft. Bree creates “Blind Date with a Book” packages, which she leaves in the Little Library along a local walking trail. To create each “Blind Date,” she takes a new or used book and researches it if she’s not already familiar with the story. She then wraps the book and selects four descriptive words to give potential readers clues about it without revealing the title.
Bree also includes a unique, themed bookmark that she designs herself and a letter thanking the reader and encouraging them to share their honest review of the book with her on Instagram. Every “Blind Date” is carefully crafted to consider the impact it will have on the recipient. She loves bringing joy to people through mystery books and engaging with recipients of her book packages.