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Jacksonville 7-Year-Old Brings Charity To Illinois State Fair

Daisy Contreras
/
NPR Illinois

The Illinois State Fair in Springfield is one week away and among the usual annual offerings is a new effort to raise awareness of community service projects.

Seven-year-old Beckham Oldenettel — of Jacksonville — is bringing his Beckham’s Bookshelf charity to the fair. He has already donated over 7,000 books to schools, hospitals and other organizations serving kids across Central Illinois. 

His inspiration is older brother, 9-year-old Kellon, who started his own community service project when he was just 5-years-old. “He (Kellon) collects socks, and every single time he got socks, I really wanted to collect books,” Beckham said. 

Kellon said he hopes fair-goers wil support his brother's charity. "It doesn't matter how old you are, but you can always make a difference," he said.

A donation box will be inside the agriculture tent. Organizers say they're encouraging for new or gently used books about agriculture or any other topic. The first 100 donations will receive a free drawing bag.

The fair runs from August 9th to the 19th and will also feature events around the state’s bicentennial celebration. 

Daisy reported on statehouse issues for our Illinois Issues project. She's a Public Affairs Reporting program graduate from the University of Illinois Springfield. She also graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and has an associates degrees from Truman College. Daisy is from Chicago where she attended Lane Tech High School.
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