Natalie's Everyday Heroes: Sisters start book drive, donating 16,000 books to Milwaukee kids

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Riley Holzrichter will be a senior in high school this fall, and when she graduates, she's leaving behind a legacy that goes beyond a GPA or sports records. 

She and her sister started a book drive in elementary school, and so far, they've collected and donated 16,000 books to kids in Milwaukee. 

For Riley Holzrichter, a book is a special thing. 

"I love seeing books I read when I was a kid. So those are my favorites," she says.

Making sure each one is in good condition matter.

She's volunteering, cleaning books at Next Door, a Milwaukee Head Start preschool. 

"So, I saw Fancy Nancy, which is a personal favorite of mine."

Books For Kids Coordinator Hannah Molitor says they give away 70,000 books a year. 

"So we make sure every book we give away is a book a kid is really going to cherish."

That's something Riley understood from a young age. 

"And my sister and I, when we were younger, we were cleaning out our books and we were like, we don't want these to go to waste. We don't want to just throw them away."

So, when she was just seven years old, she and her sister McKenna started donating their books, and eventually thousands more. 

"When she finds something that's important to her, she puts her all into it."

Riley's mom, Molly, helped the girls start a book drive at their school in Kohler. 

"Well, I'm very proud of her."

As they grew, the girls took it from there. They got sponsors to throw a pizza party for the class that collects the most books. 

"Kids will get super competitive with it. Classes, they all have a lot of fun. So, people know when the book drive is here and they get excited."

And they brought in big names, including former Packers kicker Mason Crosby and Bucks president Peter Feigin.

"He brought the championship trophy, and he brought gloves, and the kids all got to put the gloves on and touch it and take photos with it and him."

The incentives work. The book drive, held every other year, brings in more than 2,000 books each time. 

Books that come straight to Next Door, helping create the next generation of readers. 

"Her family has donated around 16,000 books to us."

"This would not be possible without people like Riley and her family."

Riley held a book drive this past winter, and since it's every other year, there won't be one during her senior year. The good news is the Holzrichters have found another family in Kohler to take over, so it will live on. 

If you'd like to nominate an everyday hero, send Natalie a message at [email protected].