Timber Creek senior Nef Ortiz was met with unfortunate news when it was discovered that a little free library, “LFL,” he installed in a local park was vandalized and burned down the night of April 29, 2017.
Learning this information from a Facebook post, Ortiz took to Twitter to spread news of the incident to his peers.
RIP Little Free Library (2017-2017) pic.twitter.com/IYDsLtQRwO
— Nef (@OrtizNef) April 30, 2017
Ortiz first began the process to build the LFL in early 2017, with a goal of spreading a love of reading to the kids in his community. Kids could take books from the LFL and return them, or stock new ones for other readers to enjoy. It was the second of its kind within the area.
“My mom had always talked to me about little free libraries and how it’d be neat to have one in the community,” said Ortiz.
The idea for the installation began with normal discussion and the Ninnie Baird Park in Heritage was chosen as a prime location. Ortiz then began to take action, first getting approval from the Heritage HOA General Manager, Laurie Lorensen, and the head of Parks and Recreation in Fort Worth, Jerry McDowell. Once he had discussed the idea with the two, Ortiz needed approval for the colors and materials used by the Public Improvement District, or PID, Board. The entire project was funded out of pocket by Ortiz.
“[The approval process] took maybe a month or so if we’re being conservative, and it took a little over a week to build,” said Ortiz, “and that’s only because we ran into a couple of problems.”
Having only been up for some months, the burning of the LFL was a shock to the community. There was very little in the way of evidence for the police to be able to take any major action, so it was a devastating blow to Ortiz. However, with support from the community and his peers, he started a GoFundMe campaign to rebuild the LFL, with an initial goal of $750 that was reached within the first 24 hours. The money will be directed towards funding the rebuild, and stocking books upon completion.
“I think the best path to knowledge is through reading,” said Ortiz, “so I want to provide as many kids as possible with the opportunity to become a genius.”