Retired Lawyer Stays ‘Out of the Pool Halls’ by Taking Kids on Book-Buying Trips
Retired banking lawyer Burt Freeman jokes that his book-buying program for New York school kids “was designed to keep me out of the pool halls.”
Freeman got the idea for his My Own Book project while volunteering at an East Harlem tutoring program after his retirement in 1998, the Wall Street Journal reports. He had worked as a senior managing director and counsel at Bankers Trust Co.
Freeman’s original mission was to help set up a computer lab, the story explains. But he noticed that he would get blank stares from the children when he asked them about their favorite books. He began taking the children on trips to buy books where they received $50 each to spend. The program has since expanded to include 45 public and four private schools.
The program has the backing of Freeman’s family foundation and operates with the help of about 80 volunteers. Freeman endowed the program with $450,000 and contributes about $50,000 a year.
