Before volunteering for MagLiteracy, Brooke Thomas, a senior at Gahanna-Lincoln High School, hadn’t really considered how magazines could be used beyond entertainment.
“MagLiteracy helped me see how accessible and engaging they are and how they can spark curiosity, support learning and provide comfort,” said Thomas, pictured above.
Thomas also saw a way she could help her own community and MagLiteracy at the same time: She is leading the effort to establish a MagLiteracy newsstand at the food pantry for GRIN, Gahanna Residents in Need, as a service initiative for her school’s National Honor Society, which she serves as president.
“After a year filled with different volunteer opportunities,” Thomas said, “I wanted to create something that felt both unique and lasting. I remembered that MagLiteracy offers the opportunity to set up magazine literacy stations in local food banks, and it immediately felt like the right fit.”
It was a way to bring something creative and impactful into our community while also building on an experience that had already meant a lot to me. — Brooke Thomas
MagLiteracy Founder John Mennell said the organization celebrates Thomas for not only imagining the possibilities but also making it happen.
“On her own initiative, Brooke delivered a Literacy Newsstand at GRIN by stepping into the role of ambassador — not because she was asked, but because she saw a need and leaned in to fix it. Brooke activated a powerful literacy flywheel,” Mennell said.
When young leaders like Brooke take ownership of ideas like this in their formative years, they embark on a lifelong service journey. — John Mennell, MagLiteracy Founder
“Brooke is not only putting magazines into people’s hands,” he added, “she’s advancing a powerful literacy model for reaching families everywhere, where access to reading and access to food work together to create lasting impact.”
Thomas said the effort is important to her because it broadens the way we think about literacy and access.
“Bringing a newsstand to Gahanna Residents in Need adds another layer of meaning,” she said. “Food banks meet essential needs, but access to reading materials matters too. People in our community who rely on these resources deserve opportunities for learning, creativity and even just a moment of escape. Being able to help provide that alongside necessities is something I find really meaningful.”
Thomas, who will attend The Ohio State University this fall to pursue a double major in marketing and journalism, remembers being immediately fascinated by MagLiteracy’s food-bank-like concept from the first time she volunteered at the warehouse two years ago, helping to unload boxes, sort magazines and organize shipments.
“It was such a unique and creative approach to literacy, and it really stayed with me even after that first visit. I returned the following year as part of the Senior Leadership Cohort and volunteered there again,” she said. “Both experiences stood out to me because of how hands-on the work was and how directly it supported the community; you could clearly see the impact of what you were doing.”