David Smith
It’s a Small World
David Smith has a talent for taking big concepts and making them smaller, easier to understand. Honed during his years as an elementary and high school teacher, it was at the core of his first non-fiction children’s book, If the World Were a Village, a phenomenal success that has sold over a million copies and been published all over the world. Three more books followed, all of them helping kids and adults alike understand that the world, despite its massive size, is a very small place indeed in terms of what we all share.
It’s a mindset that David finds reflected on Knowledge, which he has been watching and supporting since moving to BC in 2008. “There’s a real focus on helping viewers see how other people live; not just watch this neat show, but learn something about the world. It’s such an important resource.”
Being at a point in his life where it was time to re-evaluate estate plans, David came up with a particularly meaningful idea, that the royalties from his books would be redirected to Knowledge in perpetuity. “The books, assuming that they will keep selling, will be a resource for Knowledge to keep on doing what they’re doing for generations.”
As the saying goes, it takes a village – not only to raise a child but to build a strong community. “I give back because from the very beginning of my life, my parents gave back,” says David. “I learned that early on, and I enjoy the sense of giving back to somebody who’s created something for me.” It’s as simple as that.
