Recently, Tandem had the opportunity to connect with an amazing young woman on a mission to provide books to all Bay Area children. Mallika Saxena is a high school senior and co-founder of Reading Round the Clock. Mallika collects donation books from organizations, individuals, and companies throughout the Bay Area and works to distribute them to children ages 5-18.
Reading Round the Clock was founded in 2016 by Mallika Saxena and her friend Reese Johnson with the help of Dr. Jaime Peterson and Reese Johnson. Mallika and Reese are both students at San Francisco University High School and from a very young age, both
Mallika and Reese have been passionate about education. One of their main goals is to provide kids with the same educational opportunities they were given. They believe one way to achieve this is by providing kids with access to children’s books and the chance to take books home.
When she was very young, Mallika moved to India. Her new school library was small and lacked necessary materials. Having access to books is a key part of learning. Being in a school where that access wasn’t available was a wake-up call for Mallika. Since then, she knew that she wanted to do something to help bridge the gap. Getting the chance to provide books for other young people is very important to her. This guides her work with Reading Round the Clock.
“After traveling different countries over past summers, I have realized that I have been taking my own education for granted,” Reese shared. Today, Reese now serves as the vice president and business manager of Read Round the Clock. His travel experiences motivated him to get more deeply involved within his Bay Area community, providing books to kids and supporting literacy development. As he told Tandem, this mission is important not only because reading is a key part of education, but also because education is a human right. Every person deserves an education and the opportunities that education provides!
Unsurprisingly, both Mallika and Reese are book lovers! Mallika grew up reading Papa Please Get the Moon for Me with her parents. Like Mallika, Reese has been a bookworm since he was a small child, and his favorite book was Oh the Places You Will Go by Dr. Seuss. In fact, it’s a quote from this book that still motivates him today. “Kid, you’ll move mountains!” continues to encourage him to reach his goals in life.
Reading Round the Clock has received several awards, including the Rosenblatt Grant, awarded to organization by San Francisco University High School. They’ve also received the President Volunteers Service Award and a certificate from Prudential for the top 10% volunteers of California. Lastly, Mallika received the Disney “Be Inspired” grant. Additionally, Reading Round the Clock recently connected with some amazing authors such as Francisco Jimenez and Cynthia Kadohata.
Tandem is proud to support Mallika, Reese, and Reading Round the Clock to bring books to the kids who need them most. Often times, Tandem receives donated books that are not appropriate for the children we serve. When books arrive that are better suited for children ages six and up, Tandem donates them to Mallika and Reese. Reading Round the Clock currently provides around 100 books a week to the community. To date, they’ve provided over 2,000 books!
For more information about the amazing work Read Round Clock is doing, visit their website, readingroundtheclock.org.
Odette Cifuentes
AmeriCorps VISTA, Programs
Odette joined Tandem as an AmeriCorps VISTA member in March 2018. She is a student at SFSU working on an International Relations major and double minoring on Political Science and Criminal Justice. Born and raised in Guatemala, Odette is confident, adventurous, crafty, and a dog lover! At Tandem, she supports the programs team in so many ways! From getting in kind donations to helping with community events, to translating content into Spanish, she does a little bit of everything.
