About Us

The Players
Daniel Beerse, aka Charles Noland, grew up with parents who were educators, therefore his love for reading began at a very young age. He could easily get lost in books for hours. Early on in his professional sales career he was introduced to the concept of “win-win” and it really left a strong impression on him. “I thought the concept of everyone benefiting from a situation or event was terrific and I worked to incorporate that into everything I did.” Take that ideal and couple it with a creative imagination and stir in a strong entrepreneurial spirit, and you have the makings for a one-of-a-kind event such as this. As an award-winning speaker, he is ready to share his passion for the power of words with the public and the compelling need to offer all children an opportunity to learn.
David Homick brings over 20 years of computer experience to the project. He has held positions in the business world ranging from Help Desk Support to IT Systems Manager, but his real love is developing Web sites. The tireless effort and enthusiasm he displayed in building his own Web business while maintaining his "day job" is what convinced Dan that he was the right person for this important project. “Dan’s offer came at a time in my life when I was becoming more aware of my obligation to reach out and be of service to others, especially children, who have been less fortunate than myself.”
David developed and maintains The Million Books Challenge™ web site, as well as web sites for Joining Hearts and Hands, and TMD Enterprises. In addition, he works alongside Dan managing the order fulfillment process and coordinating other day-to-day activities.
The Story
The idea for The Million Books Challenge™ is the brainchild of Daniel Beerse who writes The Adventures of Drew and Ellie book series under the pen name of Charles Noland.
“In the summer of 2006, as I was working on my third book, I decided to form my own publishing company. I realized then that I was in the unique position to do more than just sell my books. I could continue to promote literacy and now give something back,” says Beerse.
From that realization he developed his “Triple-Win” program that he introduced to some local schools in the greater Rochester, NY area. First, he was able to share his stories with the children during his visit. Secondly, the children were able to buy their own copies of the books to read over again, and third, he donated to the school a portion of the proceeds from the sales. The program quickly became very successful.
Then one day after reading an intriguing article in the Wall Street Journal, he wondered what he could do if he expanded this concept and took it national, and that was when The Million Books Challenge™  was born.
This endeavor would not have been possible to put together without the help of others, especially Web developer David Homick. “David designs my web sites, and he is also an entrepreneur, so I decided to bring up the idea with him first and see what his thoughts were. After an hour on the phone, I was surprised at how receptive he was. A few weeks later when we were all together, I brought it up again for discussion. We talked about it for hours and everybody was so positive, I knew then and there that I had found the right people to help me make it happen.”
The success of putting together this project wouldn’t be complete without bearing the mention of one more person, David’s wife – Diane. Although she isn’t as involved as her husband, she is still an ardent supporter and big fan of this extraordinary challenge.
“Diane sits further up in the bleachers and from that vantage point is able to offer the rest of us a unique perspective that adds tremendous value to whatever we may be working on at the time,”  Beerse adds.
After a couple of months of researching and gathering data for the logistics on how to handle the fulfillment of this challenge, it was decided that they would handle most of it. But just in case, they lined up another printer who also offered the ability to warehouse the books and process the orders.
With a system in place to handle the books and orders, the last thing on the agenda was to find the right project to receive the donation.
“Early on in the planning stages,” Beerse states, “an idea hit me one day out of the blue, as if it had been whispered to my mind – a school that books built. That idea floated in my head for a couple of weeks before I approached David. I told him that maybe this was what we should be looking to do.”
Sometime in the middle of April, Beerse read an article in the local newspaper highlighting a member of the community who is very dedicated to education and helping the children of Africa through the organization that he and his wife had founded a couple years prior. That article and a letter written to his parents thanking them for a donation to help their cause, led to a meeting at the end of the month over coffee and muffins.
“After meeting with Bill and Joanne Cala, I knew that this project was the right one for several reasons, but the one that really struck me the most, was that they had been praying for a way to fulfill their dream of building a larger school with a community center to help HIV/AIDS orphans. So here we were answering their prayers and they were answering ours,” says Beerse.
Coincidence? “No way!” adds Beerse, “This is all part of God’s Master Plan.”
Special Thanks
We would like to give special recognition and heartfelt thanks to Sherri Baker, whose wonderful artistic talent created the beautiful logo, bookmarks and posters for this special event.