Empowering Young Readers Drives this Eagle Scout Candidate

When searching for an Eagle Scout project, Aidan McLeod ’25 reflected on one of his passions: reading. In fact, he describes himself as a “voracious reader” whose earliest memories were family trips to the library and days spent with books.

Not surprisingly, in working to attain the rank of Eagle Scout, Aidan chose one of the leading providers of children’s books: Bernie’s Book Bank, based in Lake Forest. The bank's mission is to provide books to children in underserved communities around the Chicagoland area, with the goal of creating pathways to success through book ownership.

Bernie's is able to distribute these books through collection drives and generous donors like Aidan. He will hold a collection drive at Saint Viator from Tuesday, February 18, through Friday, February 21, for new and gently used books for children from birth to age 12.

At the same time, he will be collecting books at St. James School and Parish, where he attended, and First Presbyterian Church of Arlington Heights, where his troop, Boy Scout Troop 32, is based.

“As a young child, I was given a gift worth more than all of the gold in King Solomon's mine — a love of reading,” Aidan says. “Bernie's Book Bank is a cause near and dear to my heart. I am drawn to being able to help ensure that all children have access to their own books.”

Perhaps not surprisingly, Aidan’s two older brothers, Finn ’24 and P.J. ’24, also earned their Eagle rank. Although their projects were vastly different, each included a collection drive to help the marginalized.

Finn chose to help the 18-year-old asylum seekers arriving at Viator House of Hospitality. Knowing that many of them come with little more than the clothes on their backs, he collected personal hygiene items, including bedding, socks, laundry baskets, water bottles, English language dictionaries, and gift cards to assemble into welcome baskets.

P.J. chose the St. Francis Mission Dental Clinic in South Dakota, located on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, home of the Lakota Sioux tribe. The clinic holds weekend clinics, where volunteer dentists and technicians provide free treatment to hundreds of children who would otherwise go without dental care.

 For his project, P.J. collected enough toothbrushes, dental floss, toothpaste, and mouthwash to supply 250 children. He also collected 250 coloring books and packs of crayons to give the children something to do while waiting for their appointments.

Aidan says he has wanted to become an Eagle Scout since he was in Cub Scouts. He is now one of roughly 4% of Scouts who remain involved with Boy Scouts to attain its highest rank.

“The Eagle Scout Rank is the culmination of my diligence to leadership, my troop, and my personal development,” Aidan says. “Accomplishing this project for Bernie’s, I am demonstrating this growth while serving the greater community.”

Each year, Bernie’s Book Bank strives to distribute eight books annually to children in under-resourced communities. Along with volunteers like Aidan, the organization partners with school districts to distribute age-appropriate, high-interest, and culturally relevant books. 

Since its founding in 2009, Bernie’s Book Bank has distributed more than 28 million free children’s books. Now, Aidan hopes to build on that legacy.

After all, he knows firsthand that a love of reading — and access to books — can lead not only to success in the classroom but open up a world of opportunities.