In a world where information is power and education can open locked doors—literally and metaphorically—one youth-led organization is on a mission to bring books into correctional facilities across Canada.
Since 2022, Bright Pages, a non-profit started by high school students Feiyang Luo and Anthony Li, has been quietly building bridges between communities and inmates—one donated book at a time. Now, they’re calling on the public to get involved.
From Bookshelves to Bars: A Drive with a Purpose
Until now, Bright Pages relied on sponsors to supply books. But this year, they’re switching things up with a community-wide book drive. The event will take place on Saturday, March 29, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Country Hills Kitchener Public Library (1500 Block Line Rd., Kitchener).
And the ask is simple: no hardcover books, and everything else is fair game. Novels, memoirs, even textbooks are welcome. That old copy of Percy Jackson you read in middle school? It might just become someone’s favorite escape.
“We want a more equitable, inclusive world,” said Feiyang Luo, President of Bright Pages and Student Trustee for the Waterloo Region District School Board. “But to get there, everyone needs access to education.”
He’s not just speaking in platitudes. As Luo points out, most inmates in Canada’s correctional system never finished high school. Books are more than just a pastime—they’re an entry point to a second chance.
From Skepticism to Gratitude
When Bright Pages launched, some questioned whether inmates would even want the books. That doubt didn’t last long.
“An inmate at the Stratford Jail wrote to me saying, ‘The books take our minds beyond where we are.’ That really stuck with me,” said Luo. It’s hard to argue with that kind of honesty.
Inmates from Stratford to North Bay have made direct requests. Some want fast-paced fiction. Others ask for specific resources like textbooks. Bright Pages listens—and delivers.
A Fictional Snapshot: Sam’s Surprise
Take Sam, a fictional but familiar face. Seventeen, hoodie half-zipped, earbuds in. He only came to the library to print an overdue assignment. But when he saw the Bright Pages booth—books stacked high, a handwritten sign that read “Books Beyond Bars”—he paused. His dad had been in and out of the system. Education never got a fair shot.
Sam pulled The Hunger Games off his shelf that night and dropped it in the donation box the next morning. “Hope’s kind of like a matchstick,” he told the volunteer. “You just need a spark.”
You Can Be That Spark
So—got a bookshelf with a little breathing room? Bright Pages could use your help. Whether it’s fiction to inspire, non-fiction to inform, or textbooks to teach, your donation matters.
Luo and his team aren’t just collecting books. They’re rewriting narratives—one page at a time.
