Steven Savage

Get yourself, your club, or your convention involved in getting books to people in need.

We all love books, and we probably have pretty easy access to them. Not everyone else is so lucky. Maybe you and your fellow geeks want to help people get their hands on good books to enjoy, to improve their lives, and to widen their visions. Books are powerful tools.

You – or our club, convention, or fan group – could collect books for those in need. Have a day where everyone brings in their unused books and donations. Have a donation bin or drop box at your club or convention. Go to a local library sale, get a lot of cheap books, then donate them and help out two good causes at once. Or perhaps your library needs books and you donate right to them.

As for who you can help, there’s many organizations, local, national, or international that you can get involved in. Check out the resource sections below.

Resources

Book Drive Guides:

• American Library’ Association’s Guide –  http://www.ala.org/tools/libfactsheets/alalibraryfactsheet12 – The ALA’s quick guide to gook drives.
• Read To Grow’s Guide – https://www.readtogrow.org/images/customer-files//TOOLKIT2010.pdf – A helpful guide to a book drive.

Organizations:

(Note, you can often find many local organizations that need books.)

• Books Through Bars – http://booksthroughbars.org/ – Provides books to prisoners.
• Books To Prisoners – http://www.bookstoprisoners.net/ – Provides books to prisoners.
• Bring Me A Book – http://www.bringmeabook.org/ – Serving underserved communities with portable libraries, teaching read-aloud skills, and more.
• DarienBook Aid Plan – http://www.darienbookaid.org/ – Provides books to organizations, including Peace Corps.
• First Book – http://www.firstbook.org/ – Works to get children access to books.
• International Board on Books For Young People – http://www.ibby.org/ – An international organization commited to bringing books to children.
• Kids Need To Read – http://www.kidsneedtoread.org/ – A charity promoting a culture of reading, providing books to various institutions, especially those that support disadvantaged children.
• Milk And Bookies – http://www.milkandbookies.org/ – Helps children do their own “book raising” campaigns.
• Reach A Reader – http://www.reachareader.org/ – A clearinghouse for youth books.

Organizations – Comics

• Comics For Heroes – http://comicsforheroes.org/ – Gets comics to people who can’t normally get them, from troops overseas to kids in hospitals.
• Comics For Kids – http://www.comics4kidsinc.org/ – Collects and donates comics to kids, with a focus on literacy and developing creativity.
• Operation Comix Relief – http://www.operationcomixrelief.org/ – Sends donated comics to soldiers serving on the front lines.

Respectfully,

– Steven Savage
http://www.musehack.com/
http://www.informotron.com/
http://www.seventhsanctum.com/