The Lovett School | Atlanta, GA
Notes: John Wood had a pretty comfy position at Microsoft ten years ago. While travelling through Nepal he visited a quaint school in the mountains and found their “library” was merely a filing cabinet with things left over from hikers and travelers. Apalled at this he vowed to return with more books… After leaving Microsoft and founding a successful nonprofit called Room to Read, in ten years, thousands of books in what is probably thousands of libraries, have been given out to children in some of the most troubled parts of the world. Everywhere from Africa to Nepal, and of course Laos. Education can hopefully break the cycle of poverty and it is nice to know schoolkids over there can experience the simple joy of flipping through a reading book designed for them in their home language. It was also a nice surprise meeting Dikembe Mutumbo, best known for his tenure in the NBA with teams like the Denver Nuggets and our hometown Atlanta Hawks, but he also spent considerable resources to build a hospital in his native Republic of Congo.
