Congratulations to Irving Steel!

Posted by admin on 07.12.2007 at 12:49 pm

Mr. Irving Steel from the University of Georgia.  Irv went above and beyond for the ‘Book Drives for Better Lives’ Program on campus.  As you can see from his summary below he is most definitely deserving of this Leadership award!

…I started to gather group support for the project through my fraternity of almost 100 men.  I posted messages on bulletins for large classes through our online system, WebCT and I posted messages to the different list serves

…After the fall drive, I recruited other groups to help make the spring drive bigger and better.  I organized what each group was going to do and divided the campus for our groups to have a better drive.   I wrote an editorial piece for our student newspaper that has a huge readership. I spoke at several meetings throughout the year to promote the drive.  I was in contact with the assistant to the President,  I was in contact with the head of  Residence Life…  I put up posters in high traffic areas and I was able to get our informational/planning meeting on the UGA front page.

The planning meeting was great to facilitate brainstorming for the drive and we presented a powerpoint to student volunteers.  I contacted a member in our student government to help me with the facebook event to get many student government leaders involved and help them to spread the word.

I learned a tremendous amount from working on the book drive and I feel extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to help others. I believe we have a great opportunity at UGA to create an extremely large drive which could turn into a campus movement. I have been mentoring some freshmen TEP to take over the drive and I made sure to thank all those who helped our drive so that those who helped will be inclined to do so in the future.”

-Irv Steel

Have your say » | Tagged Uncategorized, book drive, campus, georgia, university of georgia

FORGE Does It Again!

Posted by admin on 07.05.2007 at 10:02 am

We recently heard from Holly Hickling, Camp Operations Coordinator for FORGE, currently on the ground in Zambia . FORGE has been a long-time partner of Better World Books, and we are proud to help support the work that they are doing in refugee camps in Zambia . Below is Holly’s update from one of FORGE’s latest undertakings:

These pictures are from the 2 weeks that I spent in Kala Camp last month, building an addition on the FORGE house. Well, for me it was not so much building as it was watching people build, and then paying them. I did get my hands dirty a couple of times, but I definitely don’t deserve as much credit as the men and women who really put their sweat into it.

This house was made from almost all local raw materials. The only things we brought in from town were nails, door hinges, and cement. When I arrived at the Kala House, the 1500 bricks for the addition were already drying in the sun in our yard. They had been made with water, mud from our yard, and rectangular wooden molds.

The refugee construction crew started digging the foundation, painstakingly measuring every angle to make sure the construction would be flawless. As the foundation was started, other people started gathering the additional raw materials we would need for the house, cutting grass, bamboo, and cord from the fields for our thatched roof. Local carpenters started working on cross beams, as well as doors, door frames, windows, and window frames.

When the bricks started going up, the mortar was made from mud from our yard. The addition includes a bedroom that can hold 5 people and a beautiful open air kitchen that will make cooking, eating, and socializing more easy, efficient, and fun. The bedroom has a nice hard cement floor, and the walls are also plastered nicely, again with mud from our yard. After the walls went up, strong cross beams were secured to the top, with sticks of bamboo running across the roof, tied to the cross beams with strong cord. Then dried grass was tied in bundles to the bamboo. I’m not claiming to understand the physics of the whole thing, but this house will withstand the elements for years.

Who knew that one’s backyard could contain such a wealth of building materials!

Just like this addition was efficiently built to be long lasting using local resources, the 5 students who sleep in it will build their programs in Kala Refugee Camp using local ideas, local talent, and local staff. The team of 10, who I participated in training in Los Angeles , will arrive in Kala Camp in one week. They will only stay for 2 months, but the programs that they work on, like our house, will be long lasting. Not only will refugees gain skills in reading, health education, business, and computer literacy to use in Kala Camp, but they will be able to take those skills back to D.R.Congo when they return to help rebuild their lives.

Have your say » | Tagged Impact, Our Partners, africa, FORGE, Impact, Our Partners

Better World Books In the New York Times

Posted by admin on 07.03.2007 at 9:03 am

Last week Better World Books received a visit from the New York Times. The reporter wrote an interesting piece on different ways to part with beloved used books.

Here’s an excerpt: “…Better World Books offers a different option. Started by some freshly minted Notre Dame graduates in 2002, it collects used books and textbooks from about 1,000 campuses and 700 libraries nationwide.

As an individual, you can donate if you pay for shipping yourself; but you can buy anything off its Web site and shipping is free anywhere in the country.” Click here to read the full article…

One of the pictures taken on our warehouse floor – the photographer even bought a book for his book club!

Have your say » | Tagged Dispatches from the Green House, betterworld.com, new york times, press

Room to Read could be on PBS….

Posted by admin on 07.03.2007 at 7:15 am

…but they need your help!

Click here to check the 15-minute video titled “Nepal: A Girl’s Life“. This Frontline piece chronicles the life of Sabina Timilsinain, a young Nepalese girl & recipient of a Room to Grow Scholarship.

PBS has not yet decided whether the piece will air on national television. They’re monitoring how many hits the website receives before making the decision.

Please check it out today & let us know what you think!

Sabina & Sachi Cunningham,
creator of “Nepal: A Girl’s Life” for Frontline.
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2007/06/nepal_a_girls_l.html

Have your say » | Tagged Our Partners, Nepal, Our Partners, PBS, room to read

Shipment to Kenya Sponsored by Better World Books Fund

Posted by admin on 07.03.2007 at 6:46 am

We just received this great email from Pat Plonski, the Executive Director of Books for Africa:

Subject: Container to Kenya
Hello -

I am pleased to inform you that a 40-foot container of textbooks left our St. Paul warehouse today bound for the port of Mombasa, Kenya for distribution in that area of Africa.  Funding for a 20-foot container was provided for this container; BFA has utilized $1k from the Better World Books Fund to defray shipping costs of boosting this to a 40-foot container.

Thank you for this support of education in Kenya!
-Pat

This is just the first of a number of shipments that will be sponsored by the newly-formed Better World Books Fund – this 40-foot container holds about 35,000 books! Stay tuned for more BWB Fund updates.

Representing Friends and Alumni of KU at the ceremony were Dr. Leah Keino and Dr. Ebby Luvaga of Iowa State University, Dr. Jane Rose Njue of Northern Illinois University, Dr. Agnes Odinga of Hamline University, and Dorothy Rombo (faculty on study-leave from KU) of the University of Minnesota, who have all been actively involved in this project since October 2006. Also present were Wilfred Pere, and James Wakiaga, First Counsellor at the Kenyan Embassy.

Have your say » | Tagged Impact, Our Partners, better world books fund, books, books for africa, Impact, kenya, Pat Plonski

The Library Team Goes to D.C.

Posted by admin on 07.02.2007 at 12:33 pm

The Better World Books Library Team traveled up to Washington D.C. on June 22 for the Annual ALA Conference. It was a great chance for us to meet our current clients and also share about our Library Discards & Donations Program to those who were unfamiliar with it.

We had a great time in the city when we did have some free time to spare. One evening, we had a great meal at Legal Sea Foods where the waitress actually recognized our company from the logo on our shirts!

Back at the show, we had the opportunity to introduce a number of our new program features. These and also answers to some of the most common questions asked are listed in the posting below.

Thanks again to everyone who stopped by our booth!  We hope to see you all soon!

Have your say » | Tagged Uncategorized, ALA, conferences, library