2011 January - Better World Books Blog - Book Reviews, Author Interviews, Community Outreach & more

Funds Raised for Global Literacy:

$10,184,799.20

Books Re-Used or Recycled:

63,271,794

Run a Book Drive. Change the World.

Posted by David on 01.31.2011 at 4:57 pm

To all of our college student supporters: Welcome back to campus!

At Better World Books, college students play a vital role in our effort to break the cycle of poverty and dependency through the promotion of literacy education. In addition to buying your textbooks at Better World Books (where you can save money and offset the carbon it takes to ship your order!), you can support this mission and further our commitment to sustainability by helping us collect used books on your campus this semester.

Our fun and easy book drive program was developed through our work with students at over 1,800 colleges and can be a great fundraiser for your student group (service group, academic honor society, club sport team, sorority/fraternity, etc.). To date, we have sent approximately $2 million dollars to thousands of different student organizations who have run book drives in support of Better World Books!

If your group collects the most books this semester…you could win an all expenses-paid trip to South America this summer to work with several Better World Books employees and our non-profit partner, Worldfund. Every year, we go on-location with one of our partners to witness first-hand the work they are doing on behalf of literacy and the impact of our support.

Last summer, Audrey Mohr, a student at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, traveled with us to Uganda and South Africa to work with our partners Room to Read, Books For Africa and Invisible Children. You can learn about Audrey’s trip in this video (http://www.betterworldbooks.com/Info-Book-Drives-for-Better-Lives-m-2.aspx).

Thanks for your enthusiasm and your commitment to making your purchase dollars really mean something by supporting our mission to change the world…one book at a time.

David
President and CEO, Better World Books

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How I know who gets my money

Posted by admin on 01.24.2011 at 4:42 pm

- by Jozette Kauffman, BWB Customer and Contributor

Benefit Society? Help the environment? Other touchy-feely awesome sauce? I want it. If I could spend my money solely with socially responsible companies, I totally would.

Par exemple, I prefer to shop at a fancy schmancy grocery store selling mostly natural and organic foods, let’s call it Schwoll Schmoods. But it still takes me hours to get through the store because I read all the labels on food I buy. All of them. (I also taste every sample Schwoll offers – but that’s off topic.) I do this because I care that what I’m putting into my body is a) identifiable (what exactly is Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose?) and b) healthy for me and those I’m feeding.

But that’s just me, and that’s just one store. Once I’m out of that little eco-oasis, it’s hard to know much about the products I’m buying or the companies that make them. Shoes, make-up, kitchen items – even cat sweaters – most of the time there’s zero information about the manufacturer, meaning I have no idea where my money is going once I give it to the store and who knows what practices I’m supporting with my funds. Lame.

Luckily for me (and you, too, you savvy shopper), a nonprofit organization called B-Labs has built a community of Certified B-Corporations which are unlike traditional businesses in that they meet rigorous independent social and environmental performance standards. And this helps us consumers compare not just the products we’re buying, but whole companies.

Better World Books is one of the founding Certified B-Corporations and is being highlighted in a new consumer campaign run by B-Labs: Better Companies Make Better Products – BCorps are Better Companies. Check it out here. (<—- You know, click there.) Better World Books is part of something similar in England called “See what you are buying into.com”. Brilliant!

Certifications like these are designed to get consumers like you and me to think about the company behind the products we buy. It’s a great tool to help us make more informed purchasing decisions and use our dollars to vote for companies who use our hard-earned money to do something good for others and for our planet. It’s like we’re voting for a better world. Sweet.

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The Inspiration of Dr. King

Posted by admin on 01.17.2011 at 6:02 pm

by David Murphy, CEO Better World Books

Today we celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, a man of enormous impact in the United States and indeed around the world. I remember as a young boy going to hear Dr. King speak when he visited my home town and how his inspirational message resonated with so many, even if I was too young to fully understand and appreciate the power of his words and presence. And I remember that tragic day in Memphis as if it were yesterday….the grief and enormous sense of loss; seared in my mind and millions of others who can instantly recall where they were and what they were doing at the precise moment they first heard that a great light in our midst had been extinguished. He was a man of great hope and of great promise…..and he immeasurably changed our country and who we are as a people for the better.

Dr. King was the leader of a movement and his legacy is grounded not only in a quest for equality and justice but in service. The core of Dr. King’s message transcends boundaries and permeates the spirit of people today just as strongly as it did five decades ago. I think he would applaud and support all of the efforts that our community is making every day to make a difference in the lives of so many…..no matter their race, creed, color or gender….through literacy and education.

Martin Luther King is well known for many of his speeches and his ability to inspire and move people. Here is one quote that I have referenced many times over the years and from which I draw inspiration:

“And I have always said that the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and moments of convenience, but where he stands in moments of challenge and moments of controversy.”

Do you have a particular quote or speech or memory of Dr. King that you would like to share? Please do so with all of us! And in so doing help us to honor the memory of this extraordinary man….and re-commit ourselves to the dream he shared with America and the world.

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A Special Message to All of Our College Student Supporters:

Posted by John on 01.06.2011 at 11:41 pm

Happy New Year…. Hope you have enjoyed the holiday season and are looking forward to a great spring semester back on campus!

At Better World Books, we have outstanding opportunities for college students that we want to make sure you are aware of. When you BUY YOUR TEXTBOOKS AT BETTER WORLD BOOKS, you…

SAVE MONEY.
HELP THE PLANET.
DO GOOD.

What if you could help change the world and save cash? We know textbook prices can be off the charts, and we want to do all we can to save you money…as much as 90%! We have millions of new and used titles, and WE SHIP FREE TO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. Through carbon offsets, we also give you the opportunity to make sure your book is sent to you in an environmentally friendly way.

AND, any time you purchase books from us, we donate a pre-defined portion of the sale price to fund literacy and education non-profits working here in the U.S. and around the world. Great partners like Room to Read, The National Center for Family Literacy, Books for Africa, Worldfund, Invisible Children, the Robinson Community Learning Center, The Prison Book Program and Plan USA (working in Haiti) are delivering meaningful impact every minute of every day, thanks in part to the funding they are receiving from Better World Books (through the books you purchase!).

To date, we have:

– Raised over $9 million and donated over 3 million books to our non-profit literacy and education partners
– Re-used or recycled 53 million pounds of books, saving landfills

And these numbers are growing every minute of every day!

Thanks for your enthusiasm and your commitment to making your purchase dollars really mean something by supporting our mission to change the world…one book at a time.

Make sure to check us out at www.betterworldbooks.com, and stay tuned to find out how you can earn money by participating in our spring campus textbook drives.

All the best to you and yours in 2011,

David
President and CEO, Better World Books