NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. — When you imagine donations or charities, it may be something like a food drive, a soup kitchen, or even a nearby Goodwill. But “volunteer” isn’t on Kasi DeStefano’s resume, she just uses her own time to give away her own belongings.
“I just like to be able to give back something I love doing, personally,” said DeStefano, who, in recent months, has been making it her mission to stock the shelves of every “tiny library” in Nassau County.
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There are dozens of them across the community, you likely have seen one in a nearby park. They are tiny sheds with the appearance of birdhouses, but store shelves of locally-donated books available for free pickup and drop-off.
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DeStefano, known as Kasi Comunale on TikTok, is a social media influencer who has been living in Fernandina Beach for the last four years. She’s been sharing videos on the platform of her and her young daughter, Panama, putting books on the shelves of various tiny libraries around the county.
“Well, me and my mom like books, and we just want to share that with everyone else,” Panama said.
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One of DeStefano’s most recent TikTok posts, she says, caught the attention of a neighbor who has now decided to donate four tiny libraries to her family. DeStefano says she’ll use them to store books for pickup starting next month.
“I just want to keep them stocked. I just think it’s nice to be able to walk up, find something you love, read it and spend time with it,” DeStefano said.
She hopes her adventures donating books around the county will mark a chapter of change, one to inspire others to give back and help fulfill the community’s need to read.
“You never know what you’re going to find, your next favorite book could be in there for free,” said DeStefano.
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