The Warehouse and Payments

Posted by admin on 10.22.2007 at 7:25 am

Here’s a photo of our team at work getting the hundreds of student group payments together for mailing.

Thanks, warehouse, for all the hard work in getting these out!

Have your say » | Tagged Dispatches from the Green House, Dispatches from the Green House, payments

Guest Blog: SIFE at University of Memphis!

Posted by admin on 10.16.2007 at 9:20 am

The following is a guest blog from Meredith Broadhead at the University of Memphis with the SIFE organization:

I first found out about Better World Books book drives when I happened to order a book online from them.  With the book, I received a card of information regarding the opportunities to collect books for a good cause and raise funds for my student organization, Society of International Business Students at the University of Memphis.  Upon calling for more information, I found out how easy it was to run a book drive through Better World Books and was pleasantly surprised that there was no funding required on behalf of my organization.  I presented the idea to my group and they quickly approved our participation.  Being an international organization, we decided to go with the non-profit partner Books For Africa.The most success we have had so far results from the faculty support on our campus.  We made mini book collections out of empty copy paper boxes and decorated them with signs for BFA.  These boxes were strategically placed in the faculty mail rooms after receiving permission from department heads.  We asked the department secretary to send out an email to the corresponding faculty to promote our efforts and so they would know where they could leave their books.  This made it convenient for faculty members to donate their books and they have proven to be our greatest donors.  We would like to expand our reach to other departments on campus so that other faculty can have the opportunity to make a difference.

Our success also results from the participation of other independent text book stores off campus.  We simply called the managers, presented our cause, and they agreed to let us come and pick up books that they were retiring from the shelves from time to time.  When they had many books to be donated, we would easily arrange a time for them to be picked up.  It is beneficial for them as well since they can receive a tax write off for their donations, instead of selling books to wholesalers, which only creates more taxable revenue for them.  They have been another extremely important source of donations for our book drives and we look forward to maintaining our relationship with them.

The resulting funds from our participation are being donated to another student group to assist in their efforts working with the refugee community in Memphis, many of which are from the African continent.  They are supporting English as a Second Language, job skills training, and social adaptation programs.  Since they are just beginning their endeavor, they need some form of funding to operate initially.  We are pleased to donate these funds to this cause as it is supporting a fellow student group and also to come full circle by making a difference in Africa and in our own community.

Have your say » | Tagged Uncategorized, book drive, books for africa, campus, SIFE, Tennessee, University of Memphis

Books for Africa Shipment Photos

Posted by admin on 10.16.2007 at 7:41 am

An email and photos from Pat Plonski, at Books for Africa:

Many, many, many of these books are from Better World Books… The university [St. John's University, Dodoma, Tanzania] staff were extremely pleased with the books according to our BFA staff, and indicated great appreciation to the donors.  Apparently, the university was running the risk of being closed down by the government due to a lack of a proper library, so these books were critical to education and allowing the university to stay open.

Thanks.

Best regards,

–Pat

Patrick Plonski
Executive Director
Books For Africa

Have your say » | Tagged Impact, Our Partners, books for africa, Impact, Our Partners, partner updates, Pat Plonski

Tales from the Rockies

Posted by admin on 10.16.2007 at 7:30 am

My adventure began in Greeley, CO at the Phi Theta Kappa Colorado Region Conference.  Beforehand, Ron Fay, Phi Theta Kappa advisor at Aims Community College, and coordinator of the most successful Phi Theta Kappa drive in the Rocky Mountain Region (81 cartons this spring!) gave me a great tour of the campus.

The conference was great fun and inspired many new Phi Theta Kappa groups to get involved with Better World Books.  After talking to each other and hearing of how successful the Phi Theta Kappas at Pikes Peaks Community College (35 cartons!), Arapahoe Community College (37 cartons!), and Colorado Mountain College-Alpine (32 cartons!) and others were this year.  Thank you all for the opportunity to attend.

The trip to Colorado gave me the opportunity to visit many other great schools as well.

CU-Boulder had an amazing book drive this spring, coordinated by Alternative Breaks.  Brie, the drive coordinator, has handled the book drive for 3 semesters and brought in 105 cartons this spring promoting solely with e-mails and using only two collection bins!  This spring we are planning to get another student group involved and double the number of promotion methods and collection bins – Go Buffaloes!  Let’s see 210 cartons for literacy!

Golden Key and Mortar Board are planning to take the reins of a drive at CSU-Ft. Collins.  Not to play off of an old rivalry, but I think CSU could compete well with CU-Boulder’s spring book drive — they have an incredibly motivated group of coordinators and I’m excited to see how successful this drive can become.

I was also able to visit Front Range Community College–Larimer, where the Office of Student Life will begin coordinating numerous student groups on campus for a successful drive.  These groups will be responsible for varied aspects of the book drive and each will have the opportunity to table in the Student Center.  This should be a great way for the student groups to increase membership while supporting literacy!

Thank you, everyone, for the opportunity to visit!  I’ve had an awesome time meeting everyone and becoming more familiar with your campuses and experiencing the beauty of Colorado!

Have your say » | Tagged Uncategorized, Better World Books in the field, book drive, bookstore, campus, Colorado, Phi Theta Kappa

Test post

Posted by admin on 10.13.2007 at 6:03 am

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Maecenas pulvinar arcu eget nulla. Duis porttitor nibh. Integer gravida metus eu metus. In nec magna. Duis at sapien a ipsum convallis feugiat. Aliquam sed sem. Nullam convallis. Integer quis velit a eros facilisis varius. Integer enim. Nullam arcu. Pellentesque rhoncus. Nulla sapien tortor, egestas venenatis, luctus id, faucibus bibendum, erat. Donec vehicula posuere eros. Phasellus tempor, augue et cursus facilisis, tellus ligula ultrices sem, quis laoreet ipsum elit quis erat. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Nulla erat elit, mollis vitae, varius et, consectetuer nec, mi. Cras ultricies quam sit amet sapien. Aenean quam. Fusce id dolor.

Have your say » | Tagged Uncategorized

Books for Africa Fall News!

Posted by admin on 10.11.2007 at 10:02 am

Hey all, just got the latest news from Books for Africa via their Fall Newsletter and it’s very exciting!

First of all, BFA has shipped 17.5 million primary, secondary, post-secondary and library books to 35 (that’s right, 35!) countries since 1988.  This year alone they sent 119 containers to 22 different countries from Angola to Kenya to Zimbabwe and more.

In addition, to all of you Books For Africa supporters out there, go to www.betterworld.com/bfa when you want to buy books and click on the BFA logo, this will ensure that the proceeds put towards a literacy partner of any book that you purchase will go to Books for Africa!

Also, Books for Africa’s Donor Appreciation Day will be on Sasturday, November 17th from 3:30 – 6:30 at 715 East Minnehaha Ave, St. Paul, MN 55106.  Music, refreshments and light hors d’oeuvres will be provided along with a warehouse open house to “see what all the excitement is about!”  Volunteers, donors and friends are all invited!

Have your say » | Tagged Our Partners, books for africa, Our Partners, partner updates

American Council on Africa

Posted by admin on 10.11.2007 at 9:51 am

Hey all, just got an email that the American Council on Africa (ACA) will be having their 2nd annual Yambo-Yambo Peace Gala on November 8th, 2007 in Harlem (northern tip of Manhattan, NYC for those who don’t know).  Info below:

The Gala will include an array of traditional African cuisine and live music as well as an esteemed keynote speaker. We invite you to join us at this very exciting time to continue to promote the African tradition of peacemaking. You are welcome to join us in person, sponsor a guest, or send a check to support this wonderful cause.. The future of our work is dependent upon your financial support.

We accept checks made payable to the American Council on Africa , P.O. Box 386 , New York , NY 10150-0386 , credit card donations, or paypal donations through our website, www.americancouncilonafrica.org.

Have your say » | Tagged Uncategorized, africa, american council on africa, gala

Kudos La Salle

Posted by admin on 10.10.2007 at 5:05 am

Last week, I attended the World Cultures Fair at La Salle University in Philadelphia during which I was thoroughly impressed by the student coordinators commitment to sharing global perspectives and culture through food, dance and service.

One of the exhibits was a Books for Africa table at which we signed up volunteers and shared information about the success of the project.

The Cross Cultural Association headed by Elizabeth Moreno, Victor Decouto, and Chiara de Leon have run wildly successful book drives on behalf of Books for Africa for the past three semesters. Last year they collected a total of 2,908 books, raised $1,742 for student scholarships, saved 746 books from ending up in landfills and sent 329 books directly to Books for Africa .

Thank you so much for all your great work!

Have your say » | Tagged Uncategorized, book drive, books for africa, campus, La Salle

First Book Runs Book Drive in Washington DC

Posted by admin on 10.08.2007 at 8:46 am

First Book and Better World Books teamed up for a community book drive in our nation’s capital from September 8^th (International Literacy Day) through the 23rd.  First Book has distributed over 50,000,000 new books to children from low-income families in the United States .

Partnering with the Washington DC VFW, the Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church, and SunTrust Mortgage Bank, we collected over 15,000 books!  Proceeds from the sale of those books will help First Book get books into the hands of children.

Our team (pictured) went through all of the books in just 3 days.  It was a lot of fun meeting our new partners and getting out of the office to sort some books!

You can still help support First Book by donating your books to generate funding for them.

Have your say » | Tagged Uncategorized, book drive, community, first book, International Literacy Day, washington DC

NCFL Update!

Posted by admin on 10.03.2007 at 8:46 am

Join the most creative and progressive leaders working to integrate families, communities and education at the 17th Annual National Conference on Family Literacy: “Literacy Grows Families and Communities.”

The event, a signature activity of the National Center for Family Literacy, is the largest and most comprehensive conference for educators, community leaders, philanthropists and government officials dedicated to family literacy.

Session topics will highlight innovative approaches to helping families achieve their goals through literacy. Speakers will include Loriene Roy, American Library Association; David W. Murphy, Better World Books; Dorothy Kauffman, Center for Applied Linguistics; Peter DeBenedittis, author and consultant; Karen L. Mapp, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Faith Rogow, Insighters Educational Consulting; Christopher J. Lonigan, Florida State University; and Cristina Jose-Kampfner, Latino Health Access.

The Conference will be held March 29 –31, 2008, in Louisville, Kentucky.

Online registration is available now! Brochures will be mailed in October. Visit www.famlit.org/conference for details.

Have your say » | Tagged Our Partners, conferences, NCFL, Our Partners, partner updates