Macomb Public Library filled our van with hundreds of books that will be headed to Africa.

Thanks to all of the volunteers helping out.

 

Time to tackle the insurmountable pile of junk we have gathered from Dollar Stores, Target, Walmart, Best Buy, and Amazon.  A collaboration of memories, daydreams, visions, experiences, happy times, and sad.  A melting pot of stuff, junk, valuables, nicknacks, and trinkets.

Like hunting and gathering, we go out in our materialistic lives and gather objects of purpose, tools, and symbols from our daily ritual of capitalistic enterprises of this American Dream.  We keep the engines of capitalism running with our last minute purchases and temptation shopping fueled by the advertising industry.  We gather these objects of fortitude into our homes and hope that our lives will now be changed as we have purchased the latest and greatest.  A small percentage of these objects become useful to us and integrated into our daily use.  The rest become hopes and dreams of a better life or a long lost vision of free enterprise when nomads wandered the ancient trails of a forest walk littered with specimins of foggy paridise.

We now put on our overalls, muster the strength to tackle all of these entities of Chinese manufactured polymers of plastic and steel.  We try to channel our inner Martha Stewart and feed the landfills of our greed and hasty decisions.

In our mind the idea that this object has meaning to someone somewhere in the world  holds us back from making the ultimate sacrifice.  We either go into self destruct or self denial.  We either say to hell with it and show unconditional love to the landfill Gods or we curl up in a ball and cover ourselves in a blanket of stuff.

There is a middle road.   There are some organizations that can take your hasty decisions and turn them into other people’s hasty decisions.  There are some organizations that take your dusty old stuff and turn them into dreams of hope and opportunity.  Your old children’s books gathering dust hold memories of a time when you and your child curled up in a bed and bonded over words, stories, characters, pictures, ideas, morals, concepts, laughter, and happy endings. The magical moment when your child first started to read.  When their small delicate finger following along and not your big chubby digits.  A time when their innocence was a lamp in your heart.

Now is the time to provide this opportunity to rural communities in Africa.  Communities of potential Doctors, lawyers, engineers, and scientist.  Communities of children were hope is something that is within the grasp and where you can make a real impact.

So go ahead fill out our form to donate books.  We will create new opportunities for these books and get them into the hands of children that will cherish them like it is their own soul.

 

This post is partially from our own experience on what it takes to run a successful drive.  There isn’t any special secret formula.  The most important thing is hard work, determination, and networking.  Below are some suggestions.  There is no right or wrong way to do it.

So you want to run a book drive and you don’t know where to get started.

1. Pick a Date  This will solidify your drive and become something very concrete in your mind.

You may want to dedicate an entire month for people to drop off books or only a week.  A lot of this depends on your availability.  The more available you are the more likely people will find the time to donate.  The one advantage to making a smaller date range is that it will provide more motivation.  The longer the time the more people tend to procrastinate.  If you do only have a few days for drop off there will be people that only find out about it later and will want to donate.  Another option is to have the main dates, but also have the option for a drop off for the stragglers.  You should however have a final date in your mind where you will no longer accept donations.

2.  Find an organization to work with.  There are a number of organizations that will work with you.  Each one of them has different criteria on what they accept. Find out all of the criteria ahead of time.  The more specifications the more complicated it can get.  If an organization only wants children’s books from k-4 you may be stuck with a bunch of books.  Make sure that the organization does intend to do good things with the books.  You can usually tell by doing a quick search on them.  Books4Cause has very open specifications we take most books in readable condition on any subject and any reading level.  We too have restrictions such as no magazines, journals, and encylopedias.  Some organizations such as ALP require that you raise money as well to pay for the cost of shipping.  Find out all of these restrictions and make your choice on who to work with.

3.  Logistics.  Where are you going to store the books?  How are you going to box the books?  What are the drop off times? What are the book restrictions? Who is going to sort the books?  Do you need volunteers? Are you setting up drop boxes?  Getting clear on all these details will ensure a smooth book drive.  Are you going to be offering book pickups for the elderly? A lot of times you can work with a Church or another organization.  They can help serve as a storage area and they also have a built in network of volunteers and potential donors.

4.  Marketing – Now that you have picked a date and found an organization that you want to work with it is time to get the word out.  There are many ways to do this, some are free, and some cost money.  Here are a few ideas.  Let all of your friends on FB now about it.  If you have a picture include it and send out a notification at least a couple of weeks in advance.  Do this a few times as the date gets closer.  Notify your local newspaper and have them run a story.  Call all of your friends, and parents friends and let them know what you are doing.  Ask each person on the phone if they have five people’s phone numbers.  Send out an email blast to all of your friends.  Create a flier and post it in book friendly areas like the library, schools, coffee shops, book stores, and churches.  The flier doesn’t need to be complex.  It should have the dates of the drive, the location, and the beneficiaries.

5.  Sorting and Shipping – This depends on the restrictions of the group you used.  If they only want k-4 then you will need to sort the books out into these categories.  This is the part where lots of volunteers can help.  When you have all of the sorting done notify the organization you used for the next step.

So far 100 pages into this book.

When looking back at history we see the warring gene in our human race is what has evolved.  The ones offering peace to the incoming conquest were slaughtered.    When will we understand the universal axiom to accept one another and to celebrate and respect each others differences and diversity.

One can pervert good intentions of spreading the belief in one God.  When one has to result to violence, death, murder, and genocide it is probably the wrong way to go about doing it.

It’s all about the Kiddush Spread.  If there was lots of food people could use their time in other ways than to hunt and gather food.  Craftsmanship, technology, discovery, politics are born.

For me, Books4Cause is trying to equalize the playing field.  So many of our brothers ans sisters have been left behind and we need to do everything we can to pick them up.

Guns Germs and Steel is a pulitzer prize winning book.  It discuses the real reasons why certain nations/regions ended up being the conquerors and colonizers.

We will be in the beautiful city of  Cincinnati  Thursday March 29th and Friday March 30th.  We will be primarily at the University on those days, but if you live in the vicinity we will come and box your books and turn them into libraries.  These books will either be part of or support the creation of 18 libraries in Ghana.

Click here to donate your books.

 

Whoever says you can’t get anything for free hasn’t visited our FREE Bookstore in Skokie.  All of the books on our shelves are free for you to take.  These books have been saved from the landfills and are waiting for a good new home.  We are not revolutionary.  We have found two other Free Bookstores.  There is The Bay Area Free Book Exchange in San Francisco and the Book Thing in Baltimore.

Here is a sample of some of the books.

 

These books are all relevant and in great condition.  You could pay $6.00 for a copy of Lovely Bones on Amazon or you can pick it up for free at Books4Free bookstore in Skokie, IL.  You could pay $12 for the kindle ebook copy of My Losing Season by Pat Conroy or you can pick it up for free at Books4Free.

Here are some other books that are for Free:

The House of Sand and Fog

The Nany Diaries

We have popular books from Steven King, Clive Barker, Michael Chrichton, Faye Kellerman, Danny Devito, and more.

We also have a select number of CDs, DVDs, and games.  We are also stocked with children’s books.  Why go to halfprice books or Barnes and Noble when you can come to us for free.

We have lots of books that we would rather not send to recycling.  If you have an art project that is in need of books or if you would like to create some sort of installation at the Books4Free Bookstore Let us know.  Below are some inspirational installations made out of books.

 

Exciting news for those living in the Philadelphia Area.  You no longer have to send your books to the landfill.  Now you have an even better option.  Donate your books to Books4Cause and we will turn your books into libraries in Africa.

To donate books in Philadelphia Fill out or form.  Then one of our experienced donation drivers will come and pick them up.

We offer a free full service experience.   You do not have to lift a finger.  We will do all of the packing and heavy lifting.

We are making libraries every month with the help of your generous donations.

Books4Cause is a for-profit social venture.  We raise money by selling a portion of the books donated.  Our mission is to provide economic opportunities through education.

 

Brian Martin is a successful business owner living in the Chicago suburbs. He has a carefully tended website where he advertises his wares, a business partner he trusts to assist with taxes and accounting, and an eye for new and innovative designs. Brian Martin is just 21 years old, but has already been an entrepreneur for almost 2 years. What sets him apart from his peers isn’t just his age and ability: Brian also has autism.

With a school-required project to find employment as he neared graduation in 2010, Brian and his mother, Joan Martin, had some tough decisions to make. Joan, an ardent supporter of her son and autism activist, wanted to make sure Brian would be giving back to his community, becoming self-sufficient by taking public transit alone, reporting to a boss other than his own mom, and doing physical labor in the process. Brian didn’t need pay, she reasoned, but he did need an environment that was constantly changing, forcing him to adjust and learn to be flexible, traits that are often difficult for people living with autism. Through a mutual friend Joan was introduced to the Friendship Circle of Illinois, a nonprofit group that works to connect individuals with developmental disabilities to friends and real life situations in their community. Friendship Circle, in turn, introduced Joan to Books4Cause and immediately a relationship was formed.

Brian, it was decided by Joan and Books4Cause founder, Yosef Lifchitz, would work in the book warehouse in Skokie once a week helping to sort book donations for the Books4Free program. He would be exposed to all of the things Joan had hoped for, and would learn to function with a team of coworkers, increasing his social interaction and requiring him to adjust to others’ needs. One early issue Brian encountered in his new job, for example, was his annoyance at the kind of music his coworkers played in the warehouse. His initial response would have normally been to get upset and demand the music be changed, but instead Brian learned to bring headphones to work so he could listen to his own music, thereby avoiding conflict.

After Brian had become acclimated with his new career, Joan took things a step further. While attending a folk art festival one day, she noticed a vendor selling journals made from old hardback books, an incredibly popular item with festival-goers. With a creative son who adored books, this kind of craft seemed like a natural progression. Joan approached Brian about starting his own business and, after securing a grant through the organization Life’s Plan Inc. to buy initial supplies, Hardback Yoyo was formed.

Every week that Brian went to work for Books4Cause, he was allowed to take home unsellable, undonatable books for his own craft projects. Joan helped research different craft ideas and would ask Brian whether or not he felt comfortable creating them, and the two would begin the process of manufacturing Hardback Yoyo products. Brian learned very quickly and was soon even getting production help from friends and classmates who were happy to assist his cause. Hardback Yoyo, whose name comes from an amalgamation of an old email address of Brian’s and his love of the yoyo’s ability to always spring back, would be sold in local shops and at craft fairs and festivals, something that created new challenges for Brian along the way.

People living with autism often have difficulty “reading” social situations and body language cues, and Brian was no exception. Selling his craft items at festivals would force him to learn how best to approach people, and when to back off when his selling style was a little too forceful. Joan developed codes, like “PS” for personal space, and Brian quickly learned to be an excellent salesman while representing his brand and company. Though he much prefers manufacturing his products to selling them, Brian has learned to take credit card sales, enjoys it when things are busy, knows how to make deposits at the bank, can pack the car and set up his booth independently for craft shows, and is an excellent ambassador for both his business and individuals with autism. In fact, his favorite events are conferences for individuals with special needs where he can talk about his experience living with autism.

This one job has taught Brian as much as five different jobs could have done, according to his mother, while also nourishing his creativity, industrious nature, and love of the environment. By re-creating products from books that would otherwise end up in landfills, Brian is doing his part to be green, and his sales are proving it. Some of Hardback Yoyo’s most popular items are framed collages, journals and notepads from recycled books, necklaces made from chunks of book spines called “short stories”, and holiday ornaments. Joan and Brian are constantly on the lookout for new craft ideas and have recently begun making three-dimensional apples out of whole books, a wonderful gift for teachers.

In the future, Brian hopes to be a film archivist or librarian, and currently takes classes at a community college for library technical assistance while simultaneously running his business and working for Books 4 Cause. He loves movies and nostalgia, and uses some of his hard-earned profit from Hardback Yoyo sales to fund a passionate hobby for video games, DVDs, and, of course, books. Joan jokes that there is nearly always an Amazon delivery box on their porch and Brian insists on being the first to check the mail every day. When asked if he would like to eventually live on his own, Brian wisecracks that he “doesn’t want to be a 40 year old man living with his parents wearing a pocket protector” but for now the situation suits everyone just fine.

With a never-ending supply of books to work with from Books4Cause, and an eye for creativity and innovation, Brian and Hardback Yoyo are sure to go far. Check out their product line and learn how you can place an order at www.hardbackyoyo.com.
-Madeline Marin-Foucher