Worldfund - 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

Thanks from Worldfund

Posted by admin on 11.20.2007 at 4:00 pm

Picture of Bruno, Student of the Month from Alagoas, Brazil

Hey all Worldfund supporters, this one goes out to you, a la Luanne Zurlo, Executive Director:

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude for your generosity to Worldfund. Since our foundation five years ago, we have invested $3.2 million in the education of some 30,000 children in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela.

Your contributions this past year enabled Worldfund to finance our partner schools, teacher training, and gifted youth programs throughout the region. Your donations have helped fund scholarships for over 440 children; repair school buildings in Peru that were damaged in last summer’s earthquake; and train 50 Mexican teachers in English language instruction through our partnership with Nextel, the Rassias Foundation at Dartmouth College, and Fundación Televisa. We have also increased our support to Brazil by adding three new programs: the Reading Circles Program in São Paulo, the Starfish School in Maceió, Alagoas, and the Steve Biko Cultural Institute in Salvador, Bahia.

We sincerely thank you for your support. You have truly made a difference in the lives of underprivileged children and their families in Latin America!

Students in Acapulco, Mexico, sending their thanks.

Sincerely,
Luanne Zurlo
Executive Director

Have your say » | Tagged Impact, Our Partners, Impact, luanne zurlo, Our Partners, partner updates, worldfund

Update from Worldfund!

Posted by admin on 10.29.2007 at 8:36 am

The following is the latest update from Luanne Zurlo, Executive Director of the World Education and Development Fund (commonly known as ‘Worldfund’):

picture of Nubia of Acapulco, Mexico, Worldfund Student of the Month (October).

Worldfund is pleased to be an invited participant at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), which is currently taking place in New York City, and where I write to you from today! Worldfund is proposing two projects at the CGI, both Mexico-focused: an intensive training program for public school teachers; and, the opening of five top-quality Mano Amiga schools in impoverished border communities.

As Worldfund’s Founder and Executive Director, I was invited by the CGI to participate in these important meetings. President Bill Clinton introduced the CGI in 2005, as a forum for global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

Also, we are incredibly grateful to Merrill Lynch for its generous support of Worldfund this fall and since our foundation nearly five years ago. As part of its celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month in September and October, Merrill Lynch organized a Better World Books book drive on behalf of Worldfund at numerous offices throughout the country. Thousands of books were collected and boxes are still arriving, so everyone who participated can be sure that their contributions made a difference! Merrill Lynch also launched its Employee Global Giving Campaign earlier this month and chose Worldfund as the recipient of donations targeted to Latin America. We are thrilled to be a part of the company’s first global campaign and hope that employees in Latin America will have the opportunity to see firsthand the transformative impact that our education partners have on children’s lives.

Warmest regards,
Luanne Zurlo, Executive Director
Worldfund

Have your say » | Tagged Our Partners, luanne zurlo, Our Partners, partner updates, worldfund

Update: Worldfund!

Posted by admin on 09.28.2007 at 7:14 am

The following letter is an email update from Luanne Zurlo, founder and director of Worldfund, our Latin American partner.

Dear Friends:

As Worldfund’s Founder and Executive Director, I was invited by the CGI to participate in these important meetings. President Bill Clinton introduced the CGI

(www.clintonglobalinitiative.org) in 2005, as a forum for global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

The two initiatives Worldfund is presenting address the crucial educational challenges facing Mexico. The teacher training program, a two-week intensive course designed and executed by The Rassias Foundation at Dartmouth College, will provide 250 Mexican public school educators with necessary English language instruction skills. Current English instruction methods in Mexican schools are of poor quality; and spoken English skills are becoming increasingly vital in securing employment and hence for Mexico’s economic growth. Our corporate partners in this program are Fundacion Televisa and Nextel Mexico.

The second initiative focuses on opening five top quality private schools in very low income Mexican border communities. The Mano Amiga network – one of our partners in the region — already runs 28 primary and secondary schools throughout Latin America, and these five new schools will educate an additional 3,100 impoverished students over the next three years. Mexican youth are lagging behind their international peers in education levels, and schools like Mano Amiga are critical in closing the educational gap. The Mexican homebuilder Homex has committed to donating the land and construction of the schools, and the Mexican corporation Alfa and financial group Value are providing a portion of the funding.

As always, many thanks for your support.

Sincerely,

Luanne Zurlo
Executive Director
World Education and Development Fund

Have your say » | Tagged Our Partners, luanne zurlo, Our Partners, partner updates, worldfund

Worldfund’s Executive Director Visits BWB Warehouse

Posted by admin on 07.16.2007 at 1:39 pm

A few weeks ago, Luanne Zurlo, the Executive Director of our Latin American literacy partner Worldfund, visited our Mishawaka, IN warehouse (she mentions her visit in Worldfund’s latest newsletter). The timing was great since all of the Regional Directors were in town for our annual meeting (we all work from our regions around the country).

Luanne gave a presentation about the issues of education in Latin America to all of the BWB staff – the Worldfund site also has some solid resources on the Latin American education gap.

Have your say » | Tagged Dispatches from the Green House, Our Partners, luanne zurlo, Our Partners, worldfund

Idealists get Lesson in Green Business

Posted by admin on 03.28.2007 at 11:49 am

This past weekend we sent a variety of Better World Books employees to the Idealist 2007 conference in Chicago . How great to see so many motivated students finding new and innovative ways to help their communities.

An excellent highlight to the conference was our very own Xavier Helgesen’s presentation on Green Business Practices. The conversation covered an excellent and wide array of topics including many of the efforts the BWB is making to be a greener company everyday. We had a great time discussing the concept of being a carbon neutral company and how carbon credits and investment in alternative energy practices are rapidly becoming integrated in daily business practices across the country. It was also an excellent opportunity for blossoming entrepreneurs to get some great feedback on the difficulties and finer points of starting a socially conscious business. WorldFund’s Michelle Viegas was also attended, which enabled some excellent discussions on the differences between the non-profit and for-profit business worlds.

It was wonderful to meet representatives from all over the country and I am grateful for such a warm welcoming from the whole Idealist crew, DePaul University , and everyone who attended the conference.

Have your say » | Tagged Uncategorized, chicago, Green Business, Idealist, Illinois, worldfund, Xavier Helgesen

Pictures from Worldfund

Posted by admin on 02.07.2007 at 6:09 pm

Here are some great photos from Worldfund’s Mano Amiga partner school in Acapulco, Mexico. The pictures are from the Worldfund Executive Director’s (Luanne Zurlo’s) recent visit to the school. Education in action!

Have your say » | Tagged Impact, Our Partners, mano amiga, pictures, worldfund

Introducing: Worldfund!

Posted by admin on 10.09.2006 at 2:24 pm

As you may already know, Better World Books joined forces with a great new literacy partner over the summer. The World Education and Development Fund (a.k.a. “Worldfund”) is a young non-profit organization dedicated to reducing poverty in Latin America by funding high-quality education for impoverished children. Visit their website www.worldfund.org to learn more about the programs they support in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela .

Worldfund’s mission is essential, as fewer than 30% of students in Latin America complete secondary school. The absence of an educated workforce is a critical factor stunting economic development and discouraging investment in Latin America . However, Worldfund is already making an impressive impact – in just three short years, they have already raised over $2 million to fund school networks that support more than 30,000 children across Latin America .

If you choose Worldfund as your partner this semester, here’s the impact your qualifying World Fund Poster 2.jpg books can make:

500 books: Fund a one-year student scholarship at a top quality school
1,000 books: Fund the purchase of materials for a 35-student classroom
2,000 books: Fund four student scholarships at a top quality school
5,000 books: Fund a teacher’s salary for a full year
10,000 books: Fund two teacher’s salaries for a full year

We’ve already developed new posters for Worldfund campus book drives, complete with space to write the name of your student group– see below! Better World Books is moving towards greener materials – all Worldfund posters will be printed with biodegradable “eco-ink” on 25% post-consumer recycled paper, in a carbon-neutral printing process.

Better World Books is proud to include Worldfund as a potential partner for your campus book drive this semester, along with our other great literacy partners, Books for Africa, Room to Read, and the National Center for Family Literacy. Talk to your Regional Director today to find out how you can get involved in a book drive for Worldfund!