Bronx is Reading names Start Lighthouse
founder “Mover and Shaker” of the year
BY JASON COHEN
Imagine starting a nonprofi
t during a pandemic.
Well, Rina Madhani did exactly
that. In 2020, sensing
the diffi culty for children to
access books, she launched
Start Lighthouse.
Since its inception, Start
Lighthouse has given away
thousands of books in the
south Bronx, teamed up with
AOC, discussed voting and
created a social justice literacy
program as well.
Her work has not gone unnoticed
and recently she was
named The Bronx is Reading
winner of the Mover and
Shaker of the Year Award.
This an annual award honors
a literary revolutionary
within the Bronx community.
“I feel a sense of immense
gratitude,” she said about the
award. “I wanted to start my
organization for the past few
years and I was always waiting
for the right time. “I’ve
learned a lot about myself as
a leader.”
Madhani will take part
in a special in-conversation
with a surprise guest author
at our fi rst-ever Virtual Educator
Day, on June 11, as part
of this year’s fourth annual
The Bronx Book Festival.
Madhani, 28, of Manhattan,
does analytics for Success
Academy Charter Schools
and from 2015 to 2017 was a
teacher in the south Bronx.
As an educator, she already
knew the struggle those children
and families faced and
during the pandemic, their
struggles were magnifi ed.
According to Madhani, she
is blown away by the success
the nonprofi t has had. Having
a positive impact on people
and helping them during
COVID-19 wans quite meaningful,
she noted.
Having collected 4,000
books in a little more than a
year, she hopes to continue
serving the south Bronx and
one day become a national
nonprofi t. Madhani recalled
Rina Madhani, co-founder and executive director of Start Lighthouse Photos courtesy of Rina Mahani
how happy parents and children
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were when they received
books from Start Lighthouse.
“I’m just scratching the
surface,” she stated. “The
most rewarding part is I’ve
been able to build my own
community. We launched during
a pandemic and it hasn’t
been the easiest to be able to
lead a nonprofit during this
time.”
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