The Better World Books project was an idea that arose in March 2006 at the Phi Theta Kappa Carolinas Regional Convention in Clemmons, North Carolina. Mary Murphy spoke on the benefits of this wonderful program, and our chapter’s officers knew immediately that this would be a project that each and every one of us would want to participate in. Once permission was granted by our college campus’s administration, we advertised the event on campus with posters, flyers, and emails to both our chapter’s members and the college’s faculty. The College Bookstore, our on-campus textbook retailer, helped promote the event by instructing students to bring any unwanted textbooks or textbooks with no resale value to our office. We offered a book pickup to any faculty member that wished to collect books in their office from students, and we set up a donation box outside of the Phi Theta Kappa office in our Student Services building. We kept these services available not only throughout book buyback days, but all throughout each semester. Beginning in May 2006 and continuing on through today, our chapter has made this event a resounding success, collecting 81 cartons of books for Better World Books. We feel that it has been an incredibly successful event, due not only to the advertisement on campus, but the passion driving each participant. Everyone involved with this project did so out of the desire for keeping our local landfill free of textbooks, and by empowering the next generation through our literacy partner, Room To Read. We look forward to participating in this project for years to come.
Callasandra Michaels
Vice President of Records
Alpha Tau Rho chapter, Phi Theta Kappa
Coastal Carolina Community College
