That’s right folks, our 2nd Annual LEAP for Libraries Grant Application is NOW OPEN and we’re searching for today’s library program game-changers.

What is LEAP?
LEAP stands for Literacy and Education in Action Program.  A portion of every book purchased on BetterWorldBooks.com supports literacy and education around the world.  We use LEAP as a way to support libraries and literacy non-profits through grants.  

Who Won the LEAP for Libraries Grant Last Year?
Approximately 3.5 million dollars worth of grant requests and almost 240 applications were reviewed by the Better World Books Literacy and Library Council in 2011. While there were countless worthy projects, six emerged as the winning grant recipients.  You can find their winning grant stories at www.betterworldbooks.com/librarygrants.

I ask them for permission, of course, and will only take their photo if they are willing to share their face and their story with the world.

As most of you know, I am passionate about my job at Better World Books and sincerely believe in our work and mission. One of my dreams for 2012 is for every single book-lover, tree-hugger and do-gooder on Earth to know about Better World Books – to donate books to and shop with us. It’s much more realistic than another of my dreams, world peace.

So, I ventured out on the town with a camera in one hand and an iPhone to take notes in the other. I met dozens of fascinating, bright and friendly people. And a few in the likes of Oscar from Sesame Street. We laughed and opened up to one another. Strangers now friends. Literally “friends” thanks to Facebook.

These smiling strangers represent a diverse array of our neighbors worldwide. In each of them, lies a different gem which makes this a Better World.

Now, you are cordially invited to see their faces and read their stories. Comments and questions to your new friends are welcome. Book recommendations are encouraged.

I’d love to turn you from a stranger into a friend, too. Comment below and let us know your thoughts on a Better World. Help my 2012 dreams come true. Love one another and tell your friends about Better World Books!

Faces of a Better World Facebook gallery: explore here.

PS – Like the quote above? Here’s more from Tennessee Williams: http://bit.ly/tennesseewilliamsonbwb

PPS – We’d love for you to send us your literacy/green-related story & photo to add to the collection. Many thanks!

What did you do with your college textbooks when you graduated college?

I sold mine at the University of Virginia Bookstore and took the fresh cash to a cute boutique for a new dress and to Harris Teeter for a bottle of cheap champagne to celebrate.

Too bad I had not yet become aware of Better World Books. I sure hope I would have sold, or even given, my books to them. I still could have used the extra cash on silly splendors but others, who could barely dream of a shiny new dress or enjoying a bottle of bubbley, would greatly benefit too.

Here’s just a glimpse of what our student partners have been able to support in 2011 with their used textbooks:

Many students’ efforts on campus generated funding for Books For Africa. Books For Africa recently shipped its 25 millionth book to Africa, and was given a Charity Navigator 4 star rating for the 5th consecutive year, which means you can feel well assured that the funding and books raised by our wonderful book-drivers are being put to great use.

Others chose to support Room To Read through their campus book drives. Room to Read recently distributed their 10 millionth book, and they have opened more than 12,000 libraries and 1,500 schools to date. They’re currently opening libraries in South Asia and Africa at a rate of 6 per day. If you have not yet read the story of how Room To Read got started, it’s very inspiring and available here. Two lucky, passionate, hard-working college book drive leaders will win the trip of a lifetime this summer to come with Better World Books and Room To Read to visit their projects in the developing world!

With Worldfund’s 10th Anniversary quickly approaching, they have already invested more than $12 million in Latin America, with a focus on intensive training programs for public school teachers. Worldfund is currently impacting 340,000 children every year with their teacher training efforts in Mexico and Brazil. The top-generating book drive leaders from last school year were awarded a trip with Better World Books and Worldfund to South America this summer. Check out their life-changing experience in this video.

College (and even high school) students all over the country have started clubs to help end a war in Central Africa with Invisible Children. Thanks to our partnership with the peace-makers, filmmakers and educators, Better World Book Drives are supporting Invisible Children’s Legacy Scholarship Program which is providing 590 secondary and 195 university students in Northern Uganda with educational scholarships and dedicated mentors. The fundraising efforts of people like you have resulted in more than $1 million raised by Invisible Children this year. Make sure to check out their latest Book Drive video here.

The National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) and Better World Books recently awarded 20 mini grants to schools, libraries, and community-based organizations. These grants will help fund their literacy efforts, many of which target at-risk populations in the United States. In 2012, NCFL and Better World Books will be offering $10,000 grants for library literacy programs that support family literacy. Here’s a video about one family that has greatly benefited from your support.

In 2011, Better World Books officially became a Book for Book™ company. Without our amazing student book drivers (and all book donors) we could not match each book purchase with a donation to someone in need via Books for Africa and Feed The Children. There are teenagers in the United States who make it all the way to high school without ever owning a book. Meet Zachariah here, and see how you helped change his life for the better.

We want to send a giant virtual thank-you hug to all of our campus book drivers, and all book donors, for your support. We’d also love to hear your stories and see your photos. Please share by commenting below or by posting on our Facebook & Twitter pages.

Want to get even closer to making a massive difference like Bill Gates? You can with one click. Simply share Better World Books with your friends. For each new “like” and “follow” on Facebook and Twitter, we donate another book to a child in need via Feed The Children.

Finally, it’s time to BUY your textbooks and Better World Books has almost every one you need for up to 90% off! Plus, each one of your book purchases powers a book donation! Thank you and happy 2012!

We have just thing for this campaign! Recently, we have created a series of short films which highlight the impact that folks like you make every time you donate books or shop with Better World Books. We’ve entered six videos into the contest and would love for you to view and vote for them to be shown at the TED conferences this year.The videos

A homeless 9th grader who got his first book through the BWB/Feed The Children teacher store tells his story. The spot ties buying and donating to impact like Zachariah’s story.

2:40 – http://www.youtube.com/tedaws?x=us_showcasephase2_8324_27

60 seconds – http://www.youtube.com/tedaws?x=us_showcasephase2_8327_27

From the age of 5, Agnes had to sleep in the Ugandan jungle to hide from rebel soldiers. Today, she is a proud university graduate thanks to BWB and Invisible Children.

90 seconds – http://www.youtube.com/tedaws?x=us_showcasephase2_8328_27

30 seconds – http://www.youtube.com/tedaws?x=us_showcasephase2_8329_27

Our new literacy initiative – Book for Book. Better World Books commits to matching every sale on betterworldbooks.com and betterworldbooks.co.uk with a book donation to someone in need. This initiative is in addition to the funding Better World Books gives to literacy non-profits from every single sale.

1:40 – http://www.youtube.com/tedaws?x=us_showcasephase2_8325_27

Did you know that 2 billion pounds of books each year are sent to the landfill? And 21% of people in the US are functionally illiterate. We have a way to help address the environmental impact while also building advocacy around education and book donations. It’s our Better World Books drop box program! One parking spot can help change the world.

2 minutes – http://www.youtube.com/tedaws?x=us_showcasephase2_8326_27

Better World Books is glad to be one such company and honored to take part in a Twitter movement this holiday season based around the ideas of extra thoughtful giving – #GiveDifferent.

You can tune into #GiveDifferent on Twitter to learn about like-minded social enterprises, triple-bottom-line companies and non-profits with successful business models where giving is built in.

Here are a few pre-crafted messages to get started, shared with help from #GiveDifferent founder Whitney at @NEXTforWomen:

We’ve all heard of Toys for Tots, but what about those old textbooks that you don’t ever want to see again? Is there a way they, too, can help children in need worldwide learn to read?

This holiday season we’re giving you the chance to create abundance with your unwanted textbooks!

If you and 3 of your friends pledge to send us your textbooks by Dec 20th you’ll all receive 10% off your textbooks for next semester when you buy them on BetterWorldBooks.com.

Shipping your books is easy and free.  Simply fill out the form on our Facebook campaign page.  We will get back to you with the easiest way to send. Have questions? Drop us a line at campus@betterworldbooks.com.

By sending your books you are joining a network of nearly 2,000 collegiate book drives across the US and Canada.

These book drives serve as green service projects, organizational fundraisers for students and a source of invaluable funding for worldwide literacy. Your books will generate an abundance of learning opportunities for those who otherwise would not have access to such material. Our non-profit partners like Invisible Children, Room to Read and Books for Africa will ensure your book donations reach those most in need.

You will also create a wave of gratitude from students who will have access to an even larger selection of used textbooks during the textbook buying season in January (some titles are already discounted up to 90%).

Thank you, good luck on exams and happy holidays!

Take part here.

Why do you send your books to Better World Books? Which cause do you support through your textbooks? We’d love for you to share your story below.

Guest post by Derek Williams & John Cervenka, Founders of The Giving Network

GivLive, a weekly show on The Giving Network hosted by Derek Williams and John Cervanka, highlights the great work of non profits and organizations around the world. On a recent episode GivCause shared about the outstanding work Better World Books is doing to bring attention to education and literacy.

Cervenka says, “Better World Books is on the forefront as a for-profit company that makes non-profit work part of their business model. GivCause is proud to share the impact of Better World Books with our global audience.”

GivCause | The Giving Network is revolutionizing the way non profits and cause driven organizations are telling their story to the world. After launching only two months ago, GivCause is already being seen in over 36 countries. The network, headquartered in Los Angeles, was founded by Derek Williams and John Cervenka. With their extensive background in the entertainment industry their goal is to build the largest global online television network completely dedicated to non profit programs. By the response they are already experiencing they are well on their way.

A full roster of new programs from various non profits around the world will premier in January 2012.

Do you have any suggestions for webisodes Better World Books can host on The Giving Network? What about other organizations that you’d like for GivCause to highlight? Please share below…

*Note* The above blog post is a guest blog from our friends at The Giving Network. This content does not necessarily reflect the views of Better World Books (as our lawyers make sure we say). We love having guest bloggers and invite you to email 11@betterworldbooks.com if you are interested in covering a book or topic on the BWB Blog. Thank you, John and Derek!

Dear stellar students, the following is an exciting update from your campus reps at BWB.

We want you to put us to work at the warehouse of our partner, Books for Africa, so we can provide some much needed (wo)manpower in support of their efforts to end the book famine in Africa.

Now that Halloween is over, it feels like the remaining holidays for 2011 are rushing in to take its place. On November 1st I heard Christmas music playing in a sandwich shop and it seems like there are even more commercials on TV reminding you to go out and shop, shop, shop. As we still have some breathing room before the holidays arrive, it’s important to take a moment to stop and reflect on what we can all do to help others in need.

The Better World Books On Campus Team has definitely been thinking about this and we want to let you know about our November service project. (Read carefully because you play a very important part in the plan!)

Here’s the deal: if we receive 3,000 cartons of books from our student group and bookstore friends by November 30th, our entire campus team here at Better World Books will spend an afternoon volunteering in the Books for Africa warehouse. Send us a total of 5,000 cartons, and we’ll all volunteer for an entire day (that’s 56 volunteer hours!).

What do these numbers mean? Right now we’re a little over a third of the way to our 3,000 box target. If we can hit this target, we can not only donate our time, but these books can generate $16,000 to support Better World Books’ non-profit literacy partners with over 4,000 books being donated directly to Books For Africa.

If we can go beyond this and rise to the challenge of sending in 5,000 boxes then we can generate $26,000 in funding for worldwide literacy and 6,000 books in donations.

We’re counting on your support! If you have any questions, or if you need any help with supplies or shipping, please don’t hesitate to call or email your Account Executive. And be sure to check as the numbers rise on Facebook and Twitter every Monday before November 30th.

Here is an amazing example of where many of you have decided to help make a difference through raising books. Hope you are as excited and encouraged by this video from our friends at Invisible Children as we are. Please share widely!

The $500 mini-grants were awarded to 20 schools, libraries and community-based organizations that submitted innovative ideas for adopting and using Wonderoplis with the families in their existing programs. Most target at-risk populations, including a program for children whose parents are in prison.

There is tremendous variety in the programs – from elementary schools to gifted programs to school-to-home outreach. These programs, urban and rural, reach more than 2,600 students and their families in 11 states.

Winning applications range from creating mock trials and editing video footage on iMovie that can be posted online and shared with other students, to making a Wonderopolis quilt, to creating a blog to post student videos and photos.

The mini-grants will help personalize Wonderopolis for families in their programs and communities. Further expanding the impact, the grants also will give other programs and communities ideas for how to maximize the use of Wonderopolis.

This is the latest partnership effort between NCFL and Better World Books, which began in 2005.

Congrats to the winners

The winners, listed by state, are:

• Arizona: Sopori Elementary School in Sahuarita
• Arkansas: Centers for Youth and Families in Little Rock
• California: Leonardo da Vinci Health Sciences Charter School in Chula Vista, Fremont Adult School CBET Family Literacy in Fremont, Knights Landing, Children’s Center in Knights Landing, Long Beach Unified School District in Long Beach, Grand View Boulevard Elementary in Los Angeles and Gompers Middle School in Los Angeles
• Indiana: Brownsburg Public Library in Brownsburg
• Iowa: Williamsburg Public Library in Williamsburg
• Kentucky: Jefferson County Board of Education (Family Education) in Louisville, McNabb Elementary School in Paducah and Pleasant View Elementary School in Williamsburg

What do you wonder about? Post a comment below and we will share it with Wonderopolis!

The Prison Book Program gets books into the hands of prison inmates, who often lack any educational resources. As a grassroots organization operating on a shoestring budget, the organization’s partnership with Better World Books has has been essential–providing a stable source of funding.Prison Book Program was delighted to represent Better World Books at the third annual Boston Book Festival Saturday, October 15.The festival took place on historic Copley Square, in the center of downtown Boston, near iconic (and literary) landmarks such as the Boston Public Library and Trinity Church.  Dozens of authors led discussion panels, and signed their books for an estimated crowd of 30,000 “booky” Bostonians of all ages and walks of life.  Crisp fall weather, and the fact that all events were free, contributed to the great turnout.

Prison Book Program and Better World Books shared an exhibit tent where we talked about the missions of both organizations to interested attendees.

We used our presence at the Boston Book Festival to promote our upcoming joint project — the fifth Annual Great American Book Drive — taking place in Boston on Saturday, November 5, from 10am – 3pm.

If there is one thing book lovers have in common, it’s a desire to see the books they’re finished with get passed along to new readers, and to support global literacy initiatives.  As an added bonus, by clearing off their bookshelves for the Book Drive, folks had a chance to made room for all of the new books purchased at the Festival!

Full details on the Boston Book Drive visit: www.prisonbookprogram.org/bookdrive

Better World Books is proud to support the efforts of Pam and her fellow volunteers at Prison Book Program through our LEAP Grant. The grant will help 220 prisoners receive GED test preparation materials and dictionaries so they can earn a GED and have viable options for work when they are released. You can learn more about this, and other grant, here.

*Note* The above blog post is a guest blog from our friend Pam at Prison Book Program. This content does not necessarily reflect the views of Better World Books (as our lawyers make sure we say). We love having guest bloggers and invite you to email 11@betterworldbooks.com if you are interested in covering a book or topic on the BWB Blog. Thank you, Pam!

There has been quite the uproar online the past week about two articles which discussed the issue of libraries actually throwing away books. First, Cracked.com wrote about the problem. Then, NPR responded and elaborated. Now, it’s our turn to show these news outlets and book lovers around the world how we are the solution.

I interviewed our library experts at Better World Books about how we serve and work with libraries to help them responsibly handle their surplus books, make money, and make the world more literate in the process.

Question: The Cracked.com and NPR stories about book-burning and trashing at libraries around the world is shocking news. Is it true? Do libraries really sometimes throw away, or even burn, books?

Answer: Yes, they sometimes have to throw away books but we haven’t heard of anyone burning books. Librarians regularly need to make room for updated editions, yet struggle to find an easy and comprehensive way to move out old stock. They often do not have recycling contracts, and no environmentally responsible outlet for getting rid of their used books.

Some libraries have terrific Friends groups that sell some of the material, and some books can be donated, but often much remains. Some libraries just don’t have the resources to sell, donate, and find recyclers for these materials. Hence the late night dumpster runs.

And no one is more troubled than librarians themselves.  

You can learn even more about our love for working with and serving libraries in this recent Sustainable Life Media news article about Better World Books: How Dumpster Diving Can Be A New Business Metric.

Q: Why do libraries get rid of these books which have so much life left in them? Is it really cost-saving?

A: In some cases, libraries have no choice.  Laws vary from state to state and some make it difficult for libraries to find a solution for their weeded materials. And in some cases, they are not aware of the options available to them. There are libraries who throw books away, those who recycle their books, and those who have them sold on their behalf, many times through Better World Books.

Q: Where do we, Better World Books, come in? How did we find out about the library book throw-away crisis and when did we decide to help?

A: It was at the American Library Association conference that we first heard librarians admit they were sneaking out to the dumpster to throw books in the trash. They just didn’t have an outlet for the books they took out of circulation.

The librarians saw that we had an ideal platform for selling those books to generate revenue for the library. Suddenly, we were popular folks at that conference, and a major strategic decision for our business was born.

Q: How many libraries do we partner with?

A: We partner with over 3,000 libraries across the U.S, Canada, and the U.K.  Libraries ship books to us free of charge.

Q: How much do libraries have to pay us to help them with their used books?A: Nothing! We often hear that our program is “too good to be true.” There are no service agreements (unless requested), sign-up fees, monthly fees or one-time fees. We understand the budget constraints many libraries across the nation are facing and as a result charge nothing. 

Q: What’s in it for the libraries? How do they benefit from partnering with us?

A: Libraries partnering with us receive commission for books sold from their inventory shipped to Better World Books. In addition, the program serves as an outlet for their unwanted books.  Books sold from their inventory also benefit a local or international literacy partner that Better World Books and the library support.   

Books from their inventory that cannot be sold are donated.  And only as a last resort, are books recycled. Better World Books has never placed a book in landfill.

To date, we have raised over $10 million for our literacy and library partners across the U.S and around the world. This includes over $4.5 million to directly support libraries.

Q: How else do we partner with libraries?

A: We have reclaimed more than 720,000 pounds of metal shelving from libraries across the United States.

We also support libraries through our partnerships with literacy non-profits such as the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL), which is the worldwide leader in family literacy. More than one-million families have made positive educational and economic gains as a result of NCFL’s work, which includes training more than 150,000 teachers and thousands of volunteers in communities, schools and libraries across America.

Better World Books has also provided libraries all over the world with grants to support much needed programs.  Check out the grant info here.

Q: Do we ever throw a book away?

A: No. We are very conscious about our environment and we have an active recycling program. If we determine that a book does not meet our criteria or cannot be sold due to its condition, then we will recycle the book. Books that do not sell after a given period of time are collected and prepared for distribution to our Non-Profit Literacy Partners or recycled in an environmentally responsible manner. To date, we have re-used or recycled over 70 million pounds of books – that’s over 57 million books!

We hope this message gets across to everyone concerned about books being thrown away. Please share our story and let us know your thoughts…

Musical guest band Moona Luna performed for the crowd, and the event also included a used book sale.

The event raised money for both the Brooklyn Public Library as well as global literacy initiatives through Better World Books’ model.

This was the fourth year of the “Great American Book Drive” and this year, the drive collected 300 boxes of books. The books collected will be sold online to raise money for the Brooklyn Public Library System.

About the Brooklyn Public Library

The Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) is an independent library system for the 2.5 million residents of Brooklyn. It is the fifth largest library system in the United States with 60 neighborhood libraries. BPL offers free programs and services for all ages and stages of life, including a huge selection of books in more than 30 languages, author talks, job search help, literacy programs, public computers and the largest WiFi network in the borough.

How do you utilize your local public library? We love hearing from you…

More than 1,800 college and university campuses have already committed to partnering with Better World Books this year in our no cost book reuse/recycling programs for libraries, bookstores, recyclers and student groups.

These programs support campus waste reduction strategies, while generating funding to support worldwide literacy initiatives.

The 2010-2011 academic year saw participation from 1,858 campuses across Canada and the United States, with 3,424,138 pounds of book waste diverted from campus waste streams.

Top participants were the State University of New York College – Geneseo, Ohio State University – Columbus, and Wright State University – Dayton, who diverted a combined total of nearly 150,000 pounds of book waste. Better World Books is offering to conduct book waste reduction audits for any school interested.

Through Better World Book Drives, lead organizers have the chance to go on the trip of a lifetime. For the last couple of years, Better World Books takes the top two student book drive leaders on an international literacy trip.  Past winners have gone to Uganda and South Africa. Last year’s top two student book drive organizers got to go to Peru and Chile with Better World Books and our partners at Worldfund.

Want to learn more about running a book drive on your campus? Click here.

Have you run a Better World Book Drive on your campus? Tell us about it!

A business woman from Zambia shared the story of her bike shop to a Japanese volunteer.

A successful engineer from Arizona spotted his invention, a water-filtration bottle sold inexpensively in the developing world, on the page of a book at our table.

This all just took place at the Better World Books SOCAP11 Bookstore.

Social Capital Markets (SOCAP) explains that “a new form of capitalism is arising that recognizes our ability to direct the power and efficiency of market systems toward social impact, leading to a more balanced set of ‘returns’.”

Their mission is to serve as “ a multi-platform organization dedicated to the flow of capital towards social good. Our event series connects leading global innovators – investors, foundations, institutions and social entrepreneurs – to build this market at the intersection of money and meaning.”

So where does Better World Books fit in to this emerging economy for good?

Good Capital, the hosts of SOCAP, are also key investors in our company. Many people assume that since Better World Books gives away books and grants to education, we are a non-profit. It’s actually the opposite. Since we are a sustainable, for-profit social enterprise, we are able to consistently give away books and funding.

Serving as an example of a successful social enterprise and proving that businesses can, and should, create social good is part of our mission. It’s a model we hope all businesses adopt. We are for profit for a purpose.

There is a huge and growing space in the social improvement world for business to make a positive impact. Better World Books was honored to serve as the event bookstore at SOCAP where we had the opportunity to introduce like-minded entrepreneurs and investors to help one another. The books at our store were personally curated for the crowd and are all available for you here.
Social enterprise, impact investing and triple-bottom-line effectiveness are so important to us at Better World Books that we became a founding member for the Benefit Corporation movement (B Corp). As a B Corp, we are held to a higher standard to serving people, planet and profit as our shared bottom line. We are also held accountable and audited by B Labs to maintain the integrity of this special status.

If you are interested in being a conscious consumer and voting for positive change with your dollars, here are a few of our B Corp friends that we has the pleasure to spend time with at SOCAP…

Bison Brewing (PHOTO)
Good Capital (PHOTO)
Gray Ghost Ventures (PHOTO)
Indigenous Designs (photo)
Runa Tea (photo)

What is your favorite socially-minded business? How do you find the most positively-impactful companies to shop with? Have you started your own company that could be a B Corp? Share your story below!

No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Some restrictions apply. One winner per household. You need not be present to win.

The contest: We just launched a brand new commitment to making this a better world. BOOK FOR BOOK. In honor of this, we need a new tee shirt. (Check out our current tee shirts here).

We ♥ our fans as much as we ♥ books and want you to wear your BWB tee shirt with pride. What better way to adore a tee shirt than to design it yourself?

You have until Wednesday, August 31 to submit your tee shirt ideas on this event. You can either upload a photo of your t-shirt design or just comment with your tee shirt slogan idea.

On Monday, Sept 12 we will announce the top 5 tee shirt choices.

Having your friends vote for your design/slogan with likes will help us pick the top 5.

Voting will begin on the 12th and last until noon (ET) on Wednesday, Sept 28 and at 1pm (ET) we will announce the next tee shirt for Better World Books!

Where: The entire contest will take place on Facebook.

Owner of content: By submitting your design, slogan or any comment or photo on the “Create the next BWB tee shirt!” Facebook event page, you are giving all rights of that material to Better World Books to solely own from then forward.

How to enter: Submit your t-shirt idea as a comment or upload your design as a photo on the “Create the next BWB tee shirt!” Facebook event.

How to win: First, upload your photo or enter your comment on the Facebook event by Wednesday, August 31 at 12pm ET. We will pick the top 5 submissions based mostly on number of likes and positive comments on each entry. Starting Monday, Sept 12 voting begins on the Facebook event page. The winner will be the entry with the most “likes” by 12pm ET on Wednesday, Sept 28.

Important dates:

• Wednesday, August 31 – Submission deadline first round
• Monday, Sept 12 – Announce top 5 picks & voting begins
• Wednesday, Sept 28 – Voting ends on top 5 picks at 12pm ET and winner is announced at 1pm ET

Grand Prize: There will be one single winner who will win five free tee shirts – of their design – and the honor of creating BWB’s Book for Book tee shirt that will be sold on our website.

Unforeseen Events: Better World Books reserves the right to change this contest at its sole discretion at any time that Better World Books becomes aware of any circumstances or occurrence which would materially affect the contest security or fairness. Better World Books reserves the right to announce any contest rules changes over the air, in print or posters. (Better World Books is not responsible for the inability of the winner to accept the prize for any reason).

List of Winners: For the name of the winner, check Facebook or send an electronic inquiry to 11@betterworldbooks.com.

Good luck!

We hit $10 million raised for our literacy and library partners at home and around the world. We did it together – with you our awesome friends, fans, customers, book donors and partners. Thank you!

In honor of this huge accomplishment, we are making a new commitment to bringing education and opportunity to everyone possible. Every time you buy a book at BetterWorldBooks.com or betterworldbooks.co.uk, we donate a book to someone in need. Learn more about Book for Book here!

]]> http://blog.betterworldbooks.com/2011/08/15/10-million-raised-book-for-book/feed/ 0 http://blog.betterworldbooks.com/2011/07/20/better-world-books-welcomes-new-ceo-2/ http://blog.betterworldbooks.com/2011/07/20/better-world-books-welcomes-new-ceo-2/#comments Wed, 20 Jul 2011 20:35:19 +0000 David http://blog.betterworldbooks.com/?p=7010 This is a note from David Murphy, Board Member and former CEO of Better World Books, to our staff, customers, book donors, non-profit partners, friends and fans.

After over seven years of leading Better World Books, I first want to thank each and every member of our 400+ employee team, fans, book donors, literacy partners, and especially our customers, for all you have done to build the foundation of a company that is strong, vibrant and a true leader in re-shaping the way we think about how capitalism can indeed drive meaningful social and environmental impact. We have achieved a great deal and truly advanced our mission on so many levels.

We face many new challenges, as well as opportunities, in a rapidly changing book industry and we need to make sure we keep finding ways to build and deliver true value through innovation and execution at exceptional levels across the entire organization.

As we look forward, the Board and I have decided that it is time to bring in a new CEO to help lead Better World Books in to its next stage of significant growth. I am thrilled to announce that Andy Perlmutter has joined our team as CEO and that he brings a wealth of experience and talent to help us shape and then successfully execute the next phase of the organization’s vision and strategy. A seasoned executive with a track record of successful senior leadership in both entrepreneurial and Fortune 500 companies, Andy is also a founding board member of Atlanta’s North Metro Miracle League, a non-profit for the disabled.

I will be moving to a strategic advisor and very active board role where I will continue to support Andy, our team and the incredible triple bottom line organization we have created and scaled. There is tremendous momentum in the social enterprise space, and I want to continue to be a voice for 21st century stakeholder capitalism and the meaningful social and environmental impact the business community can deliver.

Andy Perlmutter

Most recently, Andy served in senior leadership within Atlanta-based Alexander Gallo Holdings, where he reported to the CEO as Senior Vice President of Business Development, responsible for guiding overall business strategy and growth initiatives. Having built two successful businesses, the first acquired by GE Capital and the second achieving tremendous success as a member of the New York Stock Exchange, Andy brings both corporate and entrepreneurial experience to the leadership team at Better World Books.

I asked Andy for his perspective, and here is what he offered:

Better World Books is a strong, vibrant organization and a true leader in re-imagining how capitalism can drive meaningful social and environmental change. Under David’s leadership, the company pioneered social capital, earning global recognition and respect for business models whose mission embeds social impact at its core. I look forward to building on the solid foundation built by David and his team to usher in the next, even more ambitious chapter of our company’s growth.

Andy’s arrival at Better World Books marks an important moment in our company’s history. No longer a startup, we’ve attracted the talents of a proven business leader, ready to propel us into the next phase of business success. And of course, our unique model requires a unique CEO skill set – one that combines business savvy with an understanding of how to balance social, environmental and financial interests across multiple stakeholder groups. Andy’s hybrid of expertise makes him an ideal fit for the task, and we are very fortunate to have him join our team.

I love Better World Books. I have lived and breathed this company 24/7 for over seven years to build what we have today. While my role will change, my passion and commitment to all that we are, all that we stand for and all that we have yet to become will be as strong and as passionate as ever.

The introduction of Andy as our new CEO marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of a new one in the amazing story that is Better World Books. A story that all of our employees, customers, book donors, non-profit literacy and library partners and our investors have played such a critical role in writing over these past eight years. I certainly want to acknowledge and thank all of our stakeholders, certainly including over 400 of the best teammates anyone could ever hope for, for all you have done over the years to help me build a truly incredible company.

I look forward to the next chapter!

If you are interested in learning more, please visit our press release. Thank you!

The “BWB Fund”, though, is just the tip of the iceberg. BWB has raised a total of over $2.3 million in funding for BFA and directly donated over 2 million books, mostly college textbooks to their efforts. So while the “BWB Fund for BFA” is concluding, BWB continues to raise funds for BFA and other non-profit literacy partners with every book sold.

Celebration of the “BWB Fund” was marked by a party attended by about 100 people. BFA and BWB executives and employees were in attendance but the vast majority of the crowd were volunteers and supporters of BFA, without whom the impressive milestone of shipping over 1.4 million books to Africa through the “BWB Fund” would not have been possible.

BFA’s founder Tom Warth celebrated the success of the Books for Africa to date, but stressed how much more is left to do. “We’ve shipped over 23 million books to Africa, but Africa has 400 million children. The US only has about 70 million. There’s so much more we need to do,” he said.

BWB’s Vice President of Marketing, John Ujda, discussed the importance of the partnership, not only for the non-profit, but for BWB as well. “We love the work BFA is doing in this world. This partnership is an instrumental piece of Better World Books’ social mission. We are very proud of the work we’ve done together thus far.”

Music at the event was provided by BFA’s own warehouse band, and demonstrated the energy that volunteers from all over the community bring to this cause.

People ask me all the time what does it really mean when you say “Better World Books delivers meaningful social and environmental impact” through its core business?

The first Monday of every month we will be posting “Ask the CEO” on Facebook, Twitter, and this blog (first installment below!). You can ask David questions about how BWB works, what he thinks about social enterprise in the news, what books he is reading, what he is proud of that BWB has recently engaged with etc. Then he’ll get back to you ASAP.

David Murphy will also be posting a monthly blog entry the first Monday of every month for you to learn more about what we’re up to and why we’re up to it.

Here are some of the questions and answers from our very first “Ask the CEO”

Q: How can you ship my order at no cost to me?

A: We include the shipping into the price of the book. We believe that it makes it much simpler than to wade through pages in the check out process. We also have great relationships with several major shippers, making our costs lower to ship, which are then passed on to you as savings.

Q: Can I send you back books from Israel?

A: We accept book donations from anywhere. Unfortunately, we can only pay for for the shipping of donated book from the US. However, when you buy a book from us, we pay for the shipping to anywhere in the world!

Q: I love books – actual books. To me, there is nothing better than fingering a page right before it is turned, or snugging my bookmark into the spine at the end of a good read. However, I am not blind to the boon electronic reading devices are enjoying these days. What are BWB’s plans for the future? How do you plan to stay viable and relevant in the midst of what looks to be a pretty big shift away one of my fave things – the printed word? Thanks!

A: We love books too! In the short term, this is a good thing for us because people are donating their physical books more and there is no shortage of people who want to buy them. In the long term, we will need to offer the books in whatever format our customers want them.

Q: Hello David – Any plans to visit Tanzania? Karibu!

A: No immediate plans for Tanzania this year, but each year we do have a lottery for all of our employees to have a chance of travelling with our major non-profit literacy partners to see how we make an impact. In July, a group of 6 employees will be traveling to Peru and Chile with Worldfund. Some of the trips in the past have included Ghana, Liberia, Brazil, Cambodia, Uganda, Capetown and Kampala.

Q: Why is the 5 cent payment to offset the carbon footprint an optional payment? Why not make it part of the price, and advertise it as ‘Five cents from every order goes to investing in green technology.”

A: We make the 3 to 5 cents optional as some of our customers are looking to save as much as possible, which is why BWB is great option! We allow our customers to “let their conscience be their guides”. Given that you are clearly passionate about the environment, you might be interested in the fact that we have a carbon-balanced policy (from offsetting shipping, to offsetting Operations). We have also won 2 EPA awards for our efforts: 2010 WasteWise Gold Achievement award winner in the Climate Change category, and the WasteWise Gold Award for Paper Reduction in 2009.

Thank you all so much for participating in the Better World Books community!

BWB’s 1st Employee from Better World Books on Vimeo.

Feel free to post any questions for Aaron below!

“How on earth will I be able to go 25 hours without saying a word? I still haven’t figured that out (and I know some of my coworkers have their doubts), but let me tell you what I do know: The Invisible Children Protection Plan is AWESOME, and it means huge things for protecting and rehabilitating LRA victims in central Africa.  So why am I participating in the 25 event? Because I can help raise money for The Protection Plan AND speak out (well, you know what I mean) against Joseph Kony’s war, all at one fell swoop! Get ready to join the movement, friends – it’s a beautiful day for changing the world!” shares Amy Clark, an Atlanta-based Account Representative for Better World Books.

Today, almost 100,000 activists all over the world are going quite to make a loud statement through their silence: the longest running war has got to stop and child soldiers must be redeemed!

The Protection Plan from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.

Many amazing individuals on the Better World Books staff are taking part in 25 today!

“I’m participating in Invisible Children 25 because I know exactly where my funds and efforts will go. Helping IC means helping end the LONGEST running war on Earth. I don’t consider myself a big talker but being silent so those without a voice can be heard is awesome! I talk to clients often so having an opportunity to inform them of the amazing things IC is doing this way will really help spread the message,” explained Catarina Gutierrez a Better World Books Regional Manager.

“I’m participating in 25 because I would like to honor Nate’s 25 years of life and his contribution to Invisible Children as well as bring awareness to the longest running civil war. It’s the little uncomfortable action that I can take to make a difference half way across the world!” Account Representative Kathy Marks says.

The efforts of “25” participants are helping Invisible Children build up their Protection Plan as the Lord’s Resistance Army moves from Northern Uganda and into the DR Congo, Central African Republic and Sudan.

“I choose to support Invisible Children because they are so deserving of our attention. Many organizations out there have good intentions–their hearts are certainly in the right place. IC stands out to me from this plethora of nonprofits because they are adequately prepared to take on practical solutions to improve the quality of life of the people they’re helping. They perform thorough research, they consider their options, and they construct the proposal that what will bring the most beneficial results. I mean–a radio communication system and a rehab center (which are both apart of the Action Plan that the 25 Campaign’s proceeds will go toward) are not ridiculous requests. It’s one thing to say, ‘I want to save the world,’ and it’s another to move forward with an impactful, but most importantly, feasible, agenda. IC practices great judgment and is successful at producing results. I know my contributions, efforts, and donations will be apart of something that works,” says Sam Lansford our Antique, Rare and Collectibles Specialist.

“While working at Better World Books allows us to do so much in support of our non-profit literacy partners, it’s so important to believe in their causes… participating in events like 25 allow us to make that happen and do more in support of an organization doing great things,” explains Joshua Fu, BWB Account Representative.

“Being a chatter box, 25 is HUGE undertaking for me. Try parenting without being able to speak to your kids! The reason I’m participating in 25 is simple: It’s amazing to be part of something that proactively save lives like the Protection Plan will. It’s also a great way to honor someone (Nate Henn) who selflessly gave everything he had to help others. In a way, I feel like a silent solider using the power of my voice; to speak out without saying a word,” Account Representative Stacey Bolnik says.

We partner with Invisible Children in many more ways than the 25 project. At Better World Books, we are dedicated to bringing education to these “invisible children” across Central East Africa – children who are kidnapped, raped and forced to kill in this 25 year long war. One of the most effective ways YOU can support our joint efforts is to make your books count for more by hosting a Better World Books drive, buying your books from BWB or even selling your textbooks to us to benefit Invisible Children. Become a part of the solution here: http://www2.invisiblechildren.com/bookdrive.

Our friends from Invisible Children came to our Atlanta office to show us their latest film, Tony. This powerful film brought tears of sadness and of hope to all of our eyes. After the screening, we swapped t-shirts in a celebration of our awesome partnership!

Check out the trailer for Tony:

Tony Bracelet: Trailer from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.

Another exciting way that Better World Books works with Invisible Children is through our Literacy and Education Action Program (LEAP). We have awarded Invisible Children with a $22,000 grant to implement their Teacher Exchange project in Northern Uganda. Our grant will enhance training and resources for six teachers affecting over 300 students, and this effect will expand over time. The program will bring six Ugandan teachers to the U.S. for a week long intensive teacher-training program after which they will return to their schools and spread what they’ve learned. Check here soon to hear how the teachers are doing.

Finally, we are so proud of our friends at Invisible Children for their presence on Oprah last week for the third time. You can see their interview with Oprah here: http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Invisible-Children/1.

Thank you so much for helping us support these amazing initiatives across Central East Africa with Invisible Children. Keep donating and buying books at BWB to continue making the world a better place one book at a time!

To celebrate Earth Day, over 60 BWBers in Indiana helped walk their adopted part of a local highway and pick up trash. Or volunteers collected 43 bags of trash! We’re so happy we could do our small part…

In Atlanta, we posed for this awesome photo wearing planet Earth’s (and BWBs) proud colors…

We also participating in a large office complex campus-wide event to share about our social and environmental practices.

If you’ve been inspired by this to GO GREEN, here are some helpful hints and ways that we save the Earth with less impact every single day:

At Home

●      Get fruits and vegetables from a local farm co-op

●      Buy only organic dairy products

●      Use heavy blinds to decrease energy needed to heat home

●      Recycle everything

●      Buy fair trade & organic when available

●      Shop local & eat local

●      Put thermostats on timers

●      Use CFL lightbulbs

●      Put hot water on low setting

●      Line dry clothes when possible

●      Wash all laundry in cold water

●      Use eco-friendly cleaning products

●      Buy items made with reclaimed materials when possible

●      Wired apartment with “kill-switches” that cut the electrical circuits at strategic points so that no energy is going to waste after you turn something “off” – notably, in addition to conserving energy, this also cuts our electric bill down to about $5 per month

●      Use dishtowels instead of paper towels

●      Grow lots of tomatoes in my back yard.  and a few hot peppers.

With our kids

●      Carpool children

●      Planting a garden with my son – already grow strawberries

●      Use recycled/chlorine-free diapers

●      Use reusable containers for my children’s lunches instead of ziploc baggies

●      Book drive for my daughter’s elementary school diverting over 1,000 books from ending up in the landfill

●      Partner with my daughter’s school 3P club which teaches children to take responsibility for the Earth, we do several projects, every Friday we supervise the children who recycle all of the white paper in the school, we built an outdoor classroom where children will be able to learn about nature, pollination, plant items and have a hands on experience on how this happens

On the road

●      Drive a hybrid

●      Live close to the office

●      Keep cars well maintained and tires inflated

●      Decline bags at stores; use reusable shopping bags

●      New car with better gas mileage than my previous one

●      Carpool

In the office

●      Try to never print anything

●      Filtered water vs bottled

●      We use real plates and silverware instead of paper plates and plastic ware

●      We print our marketing material with soy-based inks and paper from post-consumer materials

●      We purchase coffee from socially responsible coffee farms and the packaging is 100% recycled content (over 50% post-consumer)

●      In the bathroom, in lieu of paper towels we use the Dyson air hand dryer

Number one way we are Green

●      We buy and read used books at www.betterworldbooks.com… JOIN US IN CELEBRATING EARTH DAY TODAY!

Visit www.betterworldbooks.com/earthday to learn more and for a 20% OFF code to use through Tuesday!

Give Books for a Greener Home from Better World Books on Vimeo.

This Earth Day Week, if you’re thinking about greening your home, check out this story on Designing Spaces’ environmental show Think Green featuring Better World Books.

Think Green’s mission is to “re-educate, re-think and re-consider the environment as part of our economy, health and community, and effectively live an eco-friendly lifestyle and to respect our planet earth.”

“Think Green” featured BWB as an environmentally friendly company with a social impact. Correspondent Debi Marie interviewed our President and CEO, David Murphy, about how donating your used books and buying re-used books from our site is also helping promote global literacy. At BWB, we never throw a book away! We either sell the books to raise funds for our literacy partners around the world, donate the actual books to under-served communities through Worldfund, Books for Africa and Feed the Children, or have the books recycled.

Here are a few highlights of the ways that the BWB community is helping save the planet:

• Re-used or recycled over 60 million pounds of books
• 19,000 tons of carbon balancing on BetterWorldBooks.com shipping
• In the UK we partner with Carbonfootprint and Tree Appeal who plant a tree for every ton of carbon emissions produced, balancing our carbon footprint

Not only do we <3 books, we also <3 the Earth and all the people on it!

Welcome to the future of reading. We call this brand-new home entertainment BWB3D™.

All you will need in order to enjoy this new literary experience is a pair of our brand new stereoscopic spectacles, and of course one of our new line of 3D-printed books. You will be right there, part of the action, experiencing the story as it comes to life.

Just imagine experiencing classic literature with never-before-seen immersion. Doing the Charleston with the Great Gatsby. Being right there with Ishmael when he says “Call me Ishmael.”

Thanks to the marvels of modern technology, you can experience Dostoevsky, O’Connor, Faulkner, Stein… all in eye-popping 3D. Turn even the dustiest of your dusty tomes into edge-of-your-seat page-turners.

And the good news?  You can get this cutting edge technology today (while supplies last).

Disclaimer: Please use BWB3D™ Glasses only as directed. While wearing BWB3D™ Glasses, please do not look directly at the sun. Additionally, please do not look directly at computer monitors, active microwaves, the horizon, laser pointer dots, car dashboard displays, fluorescent lights, LEDs of any kind, blogs, airport signage, reflective surfaces such as mirrors or burnished metals, hand towels, desks, things that are maroon, other people wearing BWB3D™ Glasses, domesticated cats, or air. Under no circumstances should BWB3D™ Glasses be immersed in water or fed after midnight. While wearing BWB3D™ Glasses, do not make sudden motions of the head or neck. Do not perform advanced calculus while wearing BWB3D™ Glasses, as approximately 3% of subjects experienced undesired effects including but not limited to headaches, nausea, shakes, time travel, shortness of breath, and freezer burn. If you have any technical, biological, or legal issues with your BWB3D™ Glasses, please consult your BWB3D™ Glasses User’s Manual. Please do not read the BWB3D™ Glasses User’s Manual while wearing BWB3D™ Glasses.

The awards were handed out by Justmeans, “the world’s leading source of information and connections for people doing business better.” Cool!

Here’s the lowdown on the two awards:

The Best Social Investment Strategy award is given to companies that invest their financial assets in order to advance causes or programs that have both social and financial returns. At Better World Books we have invested our financial assets to scale the business and thereby scale our social impact – we’ve helped literacy around the world by raising over $9 million for literacy programs and helped save natural resources by re-using or recycling over 40 million books so far.

Other finalists for the Best Social Investment Strategy included J.P. Morgan, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, and Vodaphone Egypt. We’re honored to be in such great company.

For the Citizen’s Choice Award, anyone could vote on submissions. Since our idea was selected by the voting public, we’ll be featured within a USA Today insert called “The Power of Innovation”. So thanks for your votes! You’re helping get the word out about Better World Books every day, and now you’ve helped us reach a lot more people.

The runner up for the Citizen’s Choice Award was “The Best (Olive) Oil Producer” (http://thebestoilproducer.com/), a social enterprise aiming to serve the olive oil market better by connecting producers directly w/ customers & developing community on Lesvos, Greece.

Earlier this month, we had the opportunity to attend TED, a yearly convention centered around “ideas worth spreading.” Past speakers at TED include Bill Gates, David Byrne, Bono, Tim Ferriss, Seth Godin, Al Gore, and Steve Jobs. Actually, TED asked us to be the  official bookstore of this convention as well as its partner conference, TEDActive. Of course we could not say no to such a fortuitous opportunity.

Working the booth, we sold books to the likes of Tony Hsieh (CEO of Zappo’s) and Jason Mraz. We also hosted book signings by David Brooks, Jason Mraz, Roger Ebert, and Sunni Brown.

It was a blast to rub elbows with this amazingly influential and interesting crowd, but the best part was the knowledge that we were getting the word out there about our mission of literacy and sustainability.

And finally, we’d like to leave you with one of the most interesting TED talks of this year: Salman Khan on using video to reinvent education.

UPDATE: You, too, can browse the virtual online version of our TED bookstore booth.

From the beginning, we have had a goal to make Better World Books the world’s best online bookstore. A critical part of this has been affordable global shipping. As we have grown, we realized it became possible for us to offer our worldwide customers the same thing our USA customers enjoy: free shipping!

In order to achieve this, we have begun to take the weight of the books into account when we price them. This means that you will generally see paperback books being very affordable, hardcovers slightly more expensive, and some heavy textbooks significantly more expensive. Overall, you will still save an average of over 50% off the original prices on our used books.

We also have taken the opportunity to upgrade EVERY order to international priority shipping. In general, this will mean even faster and more reliable international shipping, although we were already upgrading some of you behind the scenes.

This is a big step, but it is just the beginning. We have plans for support for more currencies, more payment methods and even better delivery service for certain markets. Keep an eye on the site in this coming year.

Please write and let us know how we are doing. We love to hear from you!

Sincerely,
Xavier and Kreece
Co-founders of Better World Books

• We are donating over 135,000 Childrens’ books per month now….a pace of well over 1.5M million books per year….and growing.  Tens of thousands of books have been distributed through the Americans Feeding Americans Campaign.  The campaign was developed in response to our nation’s economic downturn and with a goal of reaching 200,000 families through 70 cities by the end of 2010.  Our books are making a difference in the lives of citizens who never thought they would end up in food lines….and so far the books have been distributed (placed right in the box along with the food) to approximately 40 cities in 22 states.
• We are also participating in a national program entitled The Hygiene Box Program…..here our Childrens’ books are being placed in boxes along with hygiene products and also being distributed throughout the United States.  The results so far:  tens of thousands of books distributed to 184 cities in 39 states.
• Our Childrens’ books donations are also being distributed locally.  In 2010 alone, we have distributed more than 14,000 books to over 2,000 Indiana and Michigan-based teachers who have visited the Teacher Store in nearby Elkhart, Indiana, where teachers can come in and get free books for their classrooms.  The need for these books is greater than ever in Indiana and Michigan schools as budgets have been drastically cut over the past two years and more are anticipated.  In these tough economic times, schools frequently find themselves unable to provide some of the basic tools for learning.  Studies show that teachers spend an average of $500 to $1,200 out of pocket to provide books, materials and supplies for their students.  The teachers visiting the Teacher Store know full well that the books they now have access to were generously donated by Better World Books.
• We recently donated thousands of Childrens’ books to four primary schools in South Bend in partnership with the University of Notre Dame’s Women’s Basketball team and their “Spirit of Giving” Outreach Program.
• We donated books to the South Bend/Mishawaka Boys and Girls Club Literacy Room.
• Mishawaka-based Better World Books employees raised over $1,000 for South Bend Schools in a Truck Pull contest.

The list goes on and on…too many of these impact stories to tell in this space.  From South Bend/Mishawaka and Atlanta (our “home turfs”) to serving children and families across the United States and around the world….we have found a home for over 3.3 million books donated to date.  And we are just getting started…..

So in addition to the almost $9M in cash we have raised for our non-profit literacy partners (great organizations like Room to Read; The National Center for Family Literacy; The Prison Book Program; Worldfund; Books for Africa; Invisible Children; R.E.A.D.; The Robinson Learning Community Center; The Cooperative for Education; Plan USA) and our thousands of library clients (institutions like Houston Public Library; District of Columbia Public Library; Gwinnett County Library System; Cleveland Public Library; The University of Michigan Libraries; Brooklyn Public Library System; San Diego County Library; Baltimore County Public Library; Howard County Library; Queens Borough Public Library; Colorado Library Consortium; The Ohio State University Thompson Library)……we challenge ourselves every day to re-use books…find homes for them…..and keep them out of landfills.

Fighting……to bring books to the world.  Fighting….to promote and support a fundamental right to literacy and education for every human being.

We are…….Better World Books.

Better World Books has teamed up with the City Mission Society and The Prison Book Program to help the citizens of Boston reclaim their cluttered bookshelves while spreading the cause of literacy.

In the past, these drives have collected tens of thousands of books, so bring us your hardbacks, your paperbacks, your dog-eared and gently-used favorites! Some will be sent to prisoners to promote literacy and some will be distributed locally; Better World Books will sell the rest to people all over the world who will give them a new home.

When:
Saturday, November 6^th 10am-3pm (rain or shine)

Where:
The Non Profit Center
89 South Street, Boston, MA

For more information go to http://www.prisonbookprogram.org/bookdrive/

The Brooklyn Public Library and Better World Books are joining forces for the third year in a row to make it easier than ever for used books to benefit others by presenting The Great American Book Drive. Simply drop off your used books at Central Library’s Plaza. Better World Books will then sell them to people all over the world, and Brooklyn Public Library will benefit from every sale.

While there, stop by the buck-a-book sale and restock your personal library. You can also enjoy live music by Lost in the Stacks from 11 AM to 2 PM, as well as crafts for kids throughout the day.

Find out more about the program at http://brooklynpubliclibrary.org/events/bookdrive.jsp

The Truck Pull  is a Michiana area event that helps the Public Education Foundation to maintain the momentum gained by students participating in reading programs.  Better World Books first got involved last year when employee Tim Chapman learned about the Pull and it’s mission and mentioned to others here at our warehouse.  Tim worked with Abbey Frick coordinating our involvement last year where we had an overwhelming response from our employees and a lot fun pulling trucks for literacy!

This year, the $157,000 in proceeds from the Truck Pull will fund reading programs for South Bend, Indiana schools.  Materials and training for principals, teachers, tutors and aides are all part of the plan.

Thanks to the 20 Better World Books Truck Pullers and everyone that came out to support us in  raising money for literacy!  Thanks especially to our last-minute “ringers”:  Michael Hamood, 3rd shift Facilities, and Kennedy Runyan (daughter of employee Tara Gilcrist),  for stepping up to ensure we’d have our team of 20!!

For the 2nd pull we had a “surprise” in that the driver forgot to release the parking brake,.  Oops.  But  it proved what a great team we have that we overcame that and pulled our best, 6.38 seconds!

Wanna get involved?  Maybe pull a truck or two?  Look for literacy events in your area… and of course keep shopping at BetterWorldBooks.com where every purchase benefits literacy!

– Kim Lucas, Warehouse Operations

For those of you not familiar with this important day – here’s a brief history:

September 8th was proclaimed International Literacy Day by UNESCO back in November of 1965. It was first celebrated in 1966. The aim of the day is to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and societies worldwide. On International Literacy Day each year, UNESCO reminds the international community of the status of literacy and adult learning globally and encourages celebrations of all kinds around the world.

This year the theme of the day is “Literacy and Women’s Empowerment.

UNESCO’s Director-General Irina Bokova says “Investing in women’s literacy carries very high returns: it improves livelihoods, leads to better child and maternal health, and favours girls’ access to education. In short newly literate women have a positive ripple effect on all development indicators. This international day aims to mobilize everyone’s attention to the urgent need for increased commitment to literacy, especially for girls and women.”

Read more about UNESCO and their plans for the day and for the year!

In order to celebrate, Better World Books has extended our Labor Day Sale and extra week!  You can 4 great books for $10 from our sale selection and know that a percentage of every book purchase goes to help literacy non-profits across the globe!

Part 1:

Part 2:

Stay tuned for the rest of the interview… coming soon!

About a year ago our co-founder Xavier Helgesen was reading the New York Times as he often does and came across a story by reporter Nicholas Kristof that he could not ignore.  It was a pretty powerful piece about the severe lack of maternal and child health care in many parts of the world and one woman who was working to change that in the breakaway Somaliland region of Somalia in East Africa.

Her name is Edna Adan Ismail and she is an incredible woman who chose not to retire but instead to work tirelessly to save and improve the lives of women and children.  After a successful career working for the World Health Organization,  Ms. Edna used her pension and sold her Mercedes to build the The Edna Adan Maternity and Teaching Hospital in Hargeisa, Somaliland where she works every day doing everything from delivering babies to teaching to rounding up surgical masks and supplies.

While this may seem impressive, it is even more impressive to note that Ms. Edna was the first midwife in Somaliland and that she was determined that there be more.  She was just unable to accept conditions in which the most dangerous thing a woman could do was to get pregnant.

As Xavier read the story of Ms. Edna and her teaching hospital and her strength and will, he knew Better World Books had to get involved and do something to help.

And where there’s a book, there’s a way.  We had the books and Ms. Edna had a teaching hospital that he was sure could benefit from having them.  Now to make the connection and figure out the logistics.

Working with Books for Africa, we selected about 6,000 medical books and other college-level books that we figured they could find a good home for in Somaliland, filled up a sea container and sent them to Ms. Edna.  It was a big job getting the books there and an even bigger job for Ms. Edna and the students to sort the books and get them where they could use them most, they couldn’t have been more excited.

“This was the biggest consignment of books ever received and we are all excited about them,” said Ms. Edna in an email to Xavier. “Please extend our deep appreciation to all who collected, packed, shipped, and donated these books to little-known and un-recognised Somaliland, a small country in East Africa, where three and a half million people are looking for basic health care.”

The Nursing, English, and Management textbooks were donated to the nursing students while the remaining medical texts went into the Hospital’s Library and the remainder of the non-medical college level textbooks were distributed to the Universities of Burao, Berbera, and Hargeisa where they could best be used.

It’s not just about books on shelves – it’s about real change.

Ms. Edna said it best in her email:

“Your books have given us the means to train an additional 22 new students in Community Midwifery which is a new category of students we did not train before. These students do not only learn one skill but are trained for 18 months during which they are taught safe practice of Midwifery. This is the first time that this category is being trained for our country and they are being trained for the far and isolated regions and districts of our Somaliland where they will be the only professional health workers in a wide geographical area. We are confident that this training will be a concrete way to reduce the un-acceptably high maternal and child morbidity and mortality rate of these communities.”

The fight for better health care for mothers and babies rages on in many parts of the world and we are so proud to have helped in at least this small way.  For more information on how you can help, visit The Edna Adan Maternity and Teaching Hospital website.

]]> http://blog.betterworldbooks.com/2010/08/13/where-theres-a-book-theres-a-way/feed/ 7 http://blog.betterworldbooks.com/2010/08/05/bwb-lilith-rockin-and-readin/ http://blog.betterworldbooks.com/2010/08/05/bwb-lilith-rockin-and-readin/#comments Thu, 05 Aug 2010 19:27:34 +0000 Abbey http://blog.betterworldbooks.com/?p=5538
Book lovers and music lovers were one and the same in the Better World Books booth at Lilith Fair 2010.  Check out some highlights from the tour!

During our stop in non-snow-covered Minneapolis, I was able to speak with Sara Schwiebert, BFA’s Development Director.  In this video, you’ll find out:

• BFA’s surprise origin story.
• How your purchases at Better World Books are helping end the book famine in Africa.
• BFA’s vision for the future.