Mackenzie Bearup

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ShelteringBooks.org

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Mackenzie Bearup may seem unfortunate for having been diagnosed to have an incurable disease known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. She, however, did not let this disability keep her from doing extraordinary things, like providing kids with distraction to help them cope with their emotional distress and physical pain. After discovering how books made her feel better despite the pain, she started a book drive that is now known as Sheltering Books. She just turned 18, so we could expect more good deeds from this lovely young lady who’s in pain yet still managed to think of others.

Achievements

Why Mackenzie Bearup is Extraordinary

Mackenzie Bearup is the founder of the non-profit Sheltering Books, which gives away books to kids in homeless shelters and other facilities in the hope of igniting their love for reading. Bibliotherapy was what made coping with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome possible for Mackenzie. Back when she was only 11 years old, Mackenzie’s left knee swelled, prompting her to wear a cast. But long after her knee was back in shape, the pain remained. There’s no cure, she just has to live with it for the rest of her life.

Founder of Sheltering Books

Mackenzie’s grandfather was a double amputee. Although he was stricken with severe pain due to arthritis, she never heard him complain. He was her inspiration. But Mackenzie was destined to do something for humanity even before she developed her lifelong illness. When she was three years old, she asked her mom to fill her Easter baskets with candies so she could give them away to other kids.

She also went door to door to collect footwear for a homeless shelter with her mom. It was not that surprising for Mackenzie to think of putting up an organization that enables her to be of help to others.

"I knew that reading distracted me from my pain. I told my doctor this and she told me about the Murphy Harpst Children’s Center in Cedartown, Georgia. It’s a home for some of the most abused children in the country. They built a library, but had no books. My doctor asked me what I did with my books I no longer needed and asked if I would mind donating them. I decided that I had to do more than that. I asked all my friends and neighbors if they had books to donate. I spread fliers around my community asking for book donations as well. Before I knew it, I was swamped with books! I filled their library to capacity at 11,000 books! I realized that if they needed books, then other places that helped children would need books too. So, I started Sheltering Books, Inc. to do just that!" (SOURCE: Girls Health)

CNN Hero

It did not take long before the media picked up her story. She was featured on TV shows and national publications. In 2010, she was named one of CNN Heroes. Although she did not make it to the Top Ten, Mackenzie was honored to be recognized for her noble cause. Apart from that, she was also named Daily Points of Light Winner, Hands on America- Scholastic Books Be Big in Your Community winner, Atlanta 20 Under 20 honoree, Bank of America Local Hero, Examiner.com's America Inspired finalist, and Huffington Post Greatest Person of the Day. P. Diddy called her a hero and she also received the Prudential Spirit of the Community Award.

Now 18 years old, Mackenzie dreams of going to college and completing a degree in Psychology. As if her efforts in Sheltering Books were not enough, she is still aiming to professionally help abused and sick kids. To donate to her cause, please see the Support tab of this profile.

Top Reasons why Mackenzie Bearup is Extraordinary

She founded Sheltering Books when she was only around 15 or 16.
She was named one of CNN Heroes in 2010.
She was able to accumulate 90,000 books and donated them to 25 states in the US.
She was included in NBC Nightly News Making a Difference.
She was named Daily Points of Light Winner, Hands on America- Scholastic Books Be Big in Your Community winner, Atlanta 20 Under 20 honoree, Bank of America Local Hero, Examiner.com's America Inspired finalist, and Huffington Post Greatest Person of the Day.
P. Diddy called her a hero in his blog.
She received the Prudential Spirit of the Community Award.
She plays the harp.
She maintains high grades despite her illness.
She was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome yet she still managed to help people.

Biography

Biography of Mackenzie Bearup

Date of Birth: | Born in: / Nationality: United States of America

What do you do when you are immersed in pain with the slightest touch or breeze? How do you cope when the people around you seem apathetic because they don’t understand the reason you’re crying since you seem to be perfectly healthy from the outside? Mackenzie has been through all that. She was bullied in school, a teacher failed her for refusing to dress up for their P.E. class, her classmates thought she was nuts. It came to a point when her parents decided to pull her out of school and continue her studies from home.

Just looking at Mackenzie, no one would think she has a disability. She always has a ready smile and tries to be as normal as possible. But behind that “happy” disposition are episodes of pain and discomfort. There’s no hope of ever getting her illness cured. So, rather than sulk, she channels her energy into something worthwhile. She collects books and distributes them to homeless shelters, hoping that bibliotherapy can also do wonders to abused and neglected children. Aside from providing them books, this soft-spoken teenager also wrote a booklet to guide parents in making reading with their kids part of their bonding moments. She also provides the shelters she gives books to with guidelines how to ignite the kids’ interest in reading.

Early Life

Mackenzie Bearup was born a normal kid. She is BethAnn’s firstborn. Like kids of her age, she was physically active and outgoing. Mackenzie was a perfectly healthy girl. Until that February 8, 2004 incident when life took a sudden turn for her. While jumping on the bed, dancing to American Idol, she suddenly felt a sharp pain on her left knee.

She was unable to walk after that. Her knee was swollen and it took putting it in a cast to stop the inflammation. They went from one doctor to another in their quest to determine what was really wrong with her and why the pain was not abating. After two months, they finally found the answer and a doctor was able to name her condition.

Living with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

Mackenzie was told that she has a very rare disorder called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome or Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. The reason she is still feeling the pain is due to the nerves sending messages to the brain that the injury is still there regardless of it already totally healed.

She spent the next nine months in therapy before she was able to walk again. But it was never the same for Mackenzie. Unlike before, having Complex Regional Pain Syndrome made simple tasks like walking difficult for her. The therapy sessions that are done every other month last up to three days, with each five hours long.

It would have been a lot easier if people around her understood her condition. But since she looked just perfectly fine, her classmates and some of her teachers thought she was making it all up. If Mackenzie would describe the pain:

"On the McGill Pain Scale, RSD is rated higher than childbirth, cancer pain, and it’s just above getting a finger amputated with no pain medicine. Some days I can’t walk or leave my bed." (SOURCE: Girls Health)

So what does this mean for her? It means that she sometimes went without sleeping because of the pain. She could not socialize and mingle with the crowd because the slightest vibration and touch would send her cringing in pain. She also had to manage staying indoors during winter because the cold is her worst enemy. The pain limited her activities, all right, but it did very little to contain her spirit.

Founding Sheltering Books

As she battled with her disorder, she found inspiration in her grandfather. Morris Clark was a double amputee who suffered from arthritis. Yet he took care of his wife who has multiple sclerosis and even ran his own restaurant. Mackenzie never heard the old man complain. It gave Mackenzie a reason to be brave and face her challenges head on.

Reading kept her mind off the pain whenever she underwent therapy. The characters in her books become so real to her that she often get lost in their world, forgetting her pain. When she told her doctor that she read books as a means of distraction, the doctor asked what she did with her old books. According to the doctor, there was this shelter for abused kids called Murphy-Harpst Children's Center in Cedartown. They built a library but they had no books. The doctor suggested that she might want to donate her books to the library to share the joy of reading to emotionally neglected kids.

Mackenzie could not be any happier to help. She contacted her friends and collected books from around the neighborhood. She was aiming to collect 300 books to donate to the children’s center. To spread the word, she made flyers and even posted an ad. Soon, books came pouring in. When the center was filled beyond its capacity, they told Mackenzie to start looking for places where she could donate the ongoing deluge of books she was receiving.

So, her non-profit organization Sheltering Books was born. Her two younger brothers, Alex and Benjamin, helped her sort the books according to age, gender, and genre. If she could, she would always deliver the books herself. Seeing the smiles of the kids and receiving their thanks never fail to make Mackenzie recharged and ready to do more.

So far, she has received 90,000 books and had donated to many different shelters. Knowing how powerful the influence of books can be, she wrote pamphlets to help shelter staff inspire kids to read. She also encouraged reading stories as a family bonding and wrote ideas how to make it fun for mothers and children in homeless shelters.

Mackenzie is far from done. This girl may be ailing physically but her spirit is undoubtedly healthy. She is just getting started:

"I really want to reach a goal of distributing one million books although I must admit that even that isn't enough. According to statistics there's 1.35 million homeless children every night. I want to be able to supply books to all those children." (SOURCE: Examiner)

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