When Dylan Piepul started planning his Eagle Scout community service project last June , he never imagined the response would be so great .

Piepul’s goal was to collect 5 , 000 books , during a one-day book drive held at three locations in Enfield and donate them to Read to Grow , located in Branford , Conn ., and Got Books , located in Lawrence , Mass .

They are both organizations that take in donated books and process and distribute them to schools , libraries , U . S . soldiers and other charities .

“ My goal was 5 , 000 books coming into the drive , ” he said . “ Just by word of mouth , I had 6 , 000 books before the drive began . ”

The books , which total 25 , 000 , are stacked in the Piepul’s garage , where they will be counted and stickered with a tag that explains Piepul’s project .

“ I am very proud of him , ” said Piepul’s grandfather , Jim Niner . “ Quite an undertaking to have a goal of 5 , 000 books and end up collecting 15 , 000 to 20 , 000 . ”

The process started last summer , when Dylan was trying to think of something that would benefit the community , said Dylan’s mother , Pat Piepul .

“ Lots of people will do a landscaping project or build something for the community , ” she said . “ Dylan wanted to do something different . ”

The original book drive was to be in the fall , Pat Piepul said , but the actual process of submitting the Eagle Scout proposal and the time it took to have it approved lasted into the late fall .

“ Spring-cleaning and a book drive seemed to go hand-in-hand , ” she said .

“ It’s good to get rid of some stuff , ” said Maureen Hamel , of Enfield , after dropping off a pile of books at the Enfield Public Library drop-off location . “ I was doing some spring cleaning . ”

Twenty scouts from Enfield Troop 108 helped out on April 10 , the day of the book drive .

Several family members were also helping out , including Dylan’s Aunt , Deb Rae , and longtime family friend , Michelle Campbell .

“ I’m here to support Dylan because this is a great effort , ” Campbell said .

The Enfield Council of Girl Scouts also holds a yearlybook drive , and this yearthey donated the books they collected to Piepul’s book drive .

“ They get a big thank youfor that , ” said Piepul .

“ I wanted to help out and make a difference , ” Piepul said . “ I hope to make an impact with the children’s books . ”

Piepul will be taking donations of book up until April 22 , when they will be picked up and delivered to the organizations .

“ He just hit 25 , 000 books yesterdaywith a few more hundred to come , ” said Dylan’s mom on April 15 .

“ One of the groups is sending down a truck to pick up the books , ” Piepul said .

“ The response from the community has been great , and we are thankful to them for coming out and supporting Dylan , ” said Rae .