In late March, as a UNICEF India celebrity advocate, Kareena Kapoor Khan spent a day with the students of Mitha Nagar Municipal School in Goregaon, in her effort to promote foundational learning. It was a precursor to the Every Child Reading movement that was launched in Maharashtra in April.

To lend further support to the cause, the actor initiated a book collection drive last month that would enable students of various age groups in municipal schools across Mumbai to gain access to reading material.

Six weeks on, sources say that the drive has been a success. A source reveals, “Kareena not only contributed books from her personal collection, but also announced the drive on her social media platforms. The response was overwhelming, with people enthusiastically donating books in different languages. In six weeks, she managed to collect over 1,000 books.”

The books, collected at centres in Khar and Andheri, were handed over to UNICEF last week to be distributed among various schools. The source adds, “Kareena might repeat the drive in a few months.”