{{Short description|Literacy nonprofit founder}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}} {{Use American English|date=January 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Maria Keller | image = | caption = Keller in high school | birth_date = {{birth year and age|2000|05}} | birth_place = Minnesota, United States | education = University of Notre Dame | occupation = Student | known_for = Founding Read Indeed | mother = Maura Keller | honours = Jefferson Award for Public Service, Prudential Spirit of Community Award, CNN Heroes Young Wonder }}
'''Maria Keller''' (born May 2000)<ref>{{Cite tweet|number=335731622357913600|user=ReadIndeed|title=HAPPY 13th Birthday to our FOUNDER Maria!! Over 800,000 books distributed!|author=Read Indeed}}</ref> is an American woman who is the founder and executive director of Read Indeed, a nonprofit literacy organization that donates books to children who lack access to reading materials. Keller founded the charitable organization in 2009 to donate one million books to in-need children by the time she turned eighteen, a task she accomplished at age thirteen. By 2024, Read Indeed has donated nearly four million books to underprivileged youth in each U.S. State and seventeen countries. For her work with Read Indeed, Keller received the Jefferson Award for Public Service and the Prudential Spirit of Community Award, as well as recognition from CNN Heroes.
Keller is from Plymouth, Minnesota and attends a Catholic parish in Hamel, Minnesota. Keller attended the University of Notre Dame, where she is pursued an undergraduate degree in Medieval Studies and the Program of Liberal Studies. She attended public school throughout her childhood and is a graduate of Orono High School.
== Early life and education == Keller was raised in Plymouth, Minnesota, and attended public schools in the Orono School District.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|last=Dicker|first=Ron|date=October 11, 2013|title=Maria Keller, 13-Year-Old Minnesota Girl, Donates 1 Million Books|language=en-US|work=Huffington Post|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/11/maria-keller-books-1-million_n_4086011.html|access-date=March 8, 2017|archive-date=March 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309065803/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/11/maria-keller-books-1-million_n_4086011.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Stephenson|first=Frances|date=June 21, 2019|title=Plymouth siblings collect millions of books for kids who are less fortunate|work=Lakeshore Weekly News|url=https://www.swnewsmedia.com/lakeshore_weekly/news/education/plymouth-siblings-collect-millions-of-books-for-kids-who-are-less-fortunate/article_9229c963-0431-5855-ac0f-715ea8eaf32c.html|access-date=January 27, 2022|archive-date=January 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127043523/https://www.swnewsmedia.com/lakeshore_weekly/news/education/plymouth-siblings-collect-millions-of-books-for-kids-who-are-less-fortunate/article_9229c963-0431-5855-ac0f-715ea8eaf32c.html|url-status=live}}</ref> She attended Orono High School, where she played lacrosse.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" /> She was named an AP Scholar in 2016.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Schwarze|first=Amanda|date=October 4, 2016|title=Orono High School boasts 159 AP scholars|work=Lakeshore Weekly News|url=https://www.swnewsmedia.com/lakeshore_weekly/news/education/orono-high-school-boasts-159-ap-scholars/article_8a2ffeae-5c68-55ad-87b1-11c7265db000.html|access-date=March 5, 2023|archive-date=January 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130005155/https://www.swnewsmedia.com/lakeshore_weekly/news/education/orono-high-school-boasts-159-ap-scholars/article_8a2ffeae-5c68-55ad-87b1-11c7265db000.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== College years === Keller enrolled at the University of Notre Dame in the summer of 2018.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="JesusIsLord">{{cite news|date=October 11, 2018|title=30 under 31: Young adult Catholics engaged in the life of the Church|work=The Catholic Spirit|url=https://thecatholicspirit.com/news/local-news/30-under-31/|access-date=December 23, 2021|archive-date=December 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223052353/https://thecatholicspirit.com/news/local-news/30-under-31/|url-status=live}}</ref> She is a major in the Program of Liberal Studies—a great books program—as well as Medieval Studies.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Keller|first1=Maria|last2=Hunter|first2=William|date=November 4, 2021|title=Notre Dame Presents Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew with Honorary Degree|work=The Irish Rover|url=https://irishrover.net/2021/11/notre-dame-presents-ecumenical-patriarch-bartholomew-with-honorary-degree/|quote=Maria Keller is a senior PLS and Medieval Studies major|access-date=January 28, 2022|archive-date=January 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128023043/https://irishrover.net/2021/11/notre-dame-presents-ecumenical-patriarch-bartholomew-with-honorary-degree/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite press release|title=Maria Keller Q&A|date=February 15, 2021|publisher=Fast Horse|url=https://www.fasthorseinc.com/blog/2021/02/maria-keller-qa/|access-date=January 28, 2022|archive-date=January 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128031014/https://www.fasthorseinc.com/blog/2021/02/maria-keller-qa/|url-status=live}}</ref>
In the summer of 2021, Keller traveled to London and Oxford in order to conduct research on the relationship between themes present in Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited and the aesthetics of English Catholicism during the 1800s. The research forms the basis of her senior thesis.<ref>{{Cite news|date=January 21, 2022|title=Oxford chapels and London buses: Researching 19th-century English Catholic aesthetics|work=Nanovic Navigator|publisher=University of Notre Dame|url=https://nanovicnavigator.nd.edu/blog/oxford-chapels-and-london-buses-researching-19th-century-english-catholic-aesthetics/|access-date=March 5, 2023|archive-date=June 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602164520/https://nanovicnavigator.nd.edu/blog/oxford-chapels-and-london-buses-researching-19th-century-english-catholic-aesthetics/|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Philanthropy == === Read Indeed === In 2009, when Keller was eight years old, she started to collect and distribute books to low-income children.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Smith|first=Kelly|date=December 2, 2014|title=Plymouth teen honored for collecting more than 1 million books for children in need|work=Star Tribune|url=https://www.startribune.com/plymouth-teen-honored-for-collecting-1m-books-for-kids-in-need/284518591/?refresh=true|access-date=January 27, 2022|archive-date=January 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127043530/https://www.startribune.com/plymouth-teen-honored-for-collecting-1m-books-for-kids-in-need/284518591/?refresh=true|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news|date=March 21, 2014|title=MN Teen Awarded For Public Service Alongside Baseball Stars, Actors and Journalists|work=WCCO-TV|url=https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2014/03/21/mn-teen-awarded-for-public-service-alongside-baseball-stars-actors-and-journalists/|access-date=January 27, 2022|archive-date=January 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127043523/https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2014/03/21/mn-teen-awarded-for-public-service-alongside-baseball-stars-actors-and-journalists/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0"/> She was inspired to do so after becoming deeply upset when told by her mother that not every child in the world had access to books.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|date=January 2016|title=Orono High School's Maria Keller Founds Literacy Nonprofit Read Indeed|url=http://lakeminnetonkamag.com/orono-high-school%E2%80%99s-maria-keller-founds-literacy-nonprofit-read-indeed|access-date=March 8, 2017|website=Lake Minnetonka Magazine|language=en|archive-date=March 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309064211/http://lakeminnetonkamag.com/orono-high-school%E2%80%99s-maria-keller-founds-literacy-nonprofit-read-indeed|url-status=live}}</ref> She first organized a single book drive which collected thousands of books for a Minneapolis children's shelter.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":2" /> After the book drive, the nine year-old Keller told her parents that she would collect and distribute one million books by the time she turned eighteen.<ref name=":2" />
Shortly thereafter, Keller founded Read Indeed<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /> with the goal of collecting and distributing one million books to those in need by the time she became an adult.<ref name=":1"/><ref name=":2"/> In the first year her organization, which was based in her family's garage, collected and donated 70,000 books to low-income children.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":9">{{Cite news|last=Smith|first=Kelly|date=October 11, 2015|title=Teen is honored with national 'heroes' award|page=B3|work=Star Tribune}}</ref> The organization expanded with volunteers and a warehouse.<ref name=":7" /> By the time Keller was eleven, Read Indeed had collected 500,000 books.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news|date=January 26, 2012|title=Meet the 2012 Eleven Who Care Honorees|work=KARE-TV|url=https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/outreach/meet-the-2012-eleven-who-care-honorees/89-359344590|access-date=January 28, 2022|archive-date=March 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305061929/https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/outreach/meet-the-2012-eleven-who-care-honorees/89-359344590|url-status=live}}</ref> The nonprofit donated its millionth book in October 2013, when Keller was thirteen.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news|date=October 14, 2013|title=Orono student reaches goal of one million books for children in need|work=KARE-TV|url=https://www.kare11.com/article/news/orono-student-reaches-goal-of-one-million-books-for-children-in-need/89-107793771|access-date=January 28, 2022|archive-date=March 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305061937/https://www.kare11.com/article/news/orono-student-reaches-goal-of-one-million-books-for-children-in-need/89-107793771|url-status=live}}</ref>
The 250 volunteer-strong nonprofit's reach has been international in scope,<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8">{{Cite news|date=January 28, 2016|title=Young Minnesotan Makes Difference in the Education of Millions|work=Alpha News|url=https://alphanews.org/young-minnesotan-makes-difference-in-the-education-of-millions/|access-date=January 28, 2022|archive-date=January 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128034541/https://alphanews.org/young-minnesotan-makes-difference-in-the-education-of-millions/|url-status=live}}</ref> though 80% of books distributed by the nonprofit have been given to children in Minnesota.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":8" /> By 2014, the organization had distributed books to children in thirty U.S. states and thirteen countries.<ref name="Good News">{{cite web|date=January 28, 2014|title=The 13-Year-Old Who Is Championing World Literacy, a Million Books at a Time|url=http://shine.yahoo.com/ellen-good-news/13-old-championing-world-literacy-million-books-time-222600223.html|url-status=dead|work=Ellen's Good News / The Good News|publisher=Yahoo Shine|accessdate=August 3, 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140405123603/http://shine.yahoo.com/ellen-good-news/13-old-championing-world-literacy-million-books-time-222600223.html|archivedate=April 5, 2014}}</ref> This reach of the charity's work expanded to 48 states by March 2016 and all fifty U.S. states and seventeen countries by 2019.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite news|date=March 18, 2016|title=Orono sophomore wins service award for book nonprofit|work=Star Tribune|url=https://www.startribune.com/orono-sophomore-wins-service-award-for-book-nonprofit/372590831/|access-date=January 28, 2022|archive-date=January 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128031033/https://www.startribune.com/orono-sophomore-wins-service-award-for-book-nonprofit/372590831/|url-status=live}}</ref> {{as of|2019}}, Read Indeed had collected and distributed more than three million books to underprivileged youth.<ref name=":0" />
Following her matriculation to the University of Notre Dame, Keller resigned as CEO of Read Indeed in order to allow her younger brother, Ryan, to serve in that role.<ref name=":0" /> As of 2024, Keller is now the executive director of Read Indeed.<ref name=":0" />
== Awards and honors == In 2012, Keller won a 2012 Eleven Who Care award, a volunteer recognition award given to Minnesotans by KARE-TV.<ref name=":5" />
In 2014, Keller was one of two students to receive a Jefferson Award for Public Service in 2014 in the category of Outstanding National or Global Service by a Young American 25 Years or Under.<ref name="Good News" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Vue|first=Katelyn|date=November 2016|title=The gift of reading: 16-year-old Maria Keller is distributing 2 million books to at-risk youth|work=ThreeSixty|publisher=University of St. Thomas|url=https://threesixty.stthomas.edu/the-gift-of-reading-16-year-old-maria-keller-is-distributing-2-million-books-to-at-risk-youth/|access-date=January 28, 2022|archive-date=January 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128033433/https://threesixty.stthomas.edu/the-gift-of-reading-16-year-old-maria-keller-is-distributing-2-million-books-to-at-risk-youth/|url-status=live}}</ref> That same year, Keller was one of three children recognized as a CNN Heroes Young Wonder for her work;<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news|title=CNN HEROES 2014 ARCHIVE|work=CNN|url=https://www.cnn.com/specials/cnn-heroes-2014-archive|access-date=January 28, 2022|archive-date=January 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128033432/https://www.cnn.com/specials/cnn-heroes-2014-archive|url-status=live}}</ref> 2014 also saw Keller become the inaugural winner of the Brielle, New Jersey–based Charles Lafitte Foundation's "Junior Changemaker" award.<ref>{{Cite news|date=December 11, 2014|title=Charles Lafitte Foundation names 'Junior Changemaker'|page=21|work=The Coast Star}}</ref>
In September 2015, Keller was selected as an honoree for the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes.<ref name=":9" />
In 2016, Keller was recognized as a recipient of the Prudential Spirit of Community Award.<ref name=":6" />
== Personal life == Keller is a Roman Catholic.<ref name="JesusIsLord" /><ref name=":4"/> She has an affinity for Memento Mori, describing it as a key part of her spiritual life.<ref name=":4"/> She is a member of Saint Anne's Parish in Hamel, Minnesota.<ref name="JesusIsLord" />
Keller's mother, Maura, is an editor and freelance writer.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> According to the ''Star Tribune'', Keller's father works in the field of design.<ref name=":1" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Jefferson Award Winners}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Keller, Maria}} Category:2000 births Category:American women philanthropists Category:Living people Category:People from Orono, Minnesota Category:Philanthropists from Minnesota Category:University of Notre Dame alumni Category:Catholics from Minnesota