New Library at the Science Academy of Chicago

We were happy to be able to donate over a thousand books to start a library at the Science Academy of Chicago as part of our Books4Schools Project .  In addition to our work in Africa we also donate books to local schools and organizations in various metro areas around the country.  Currently we service Chicago, New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia.  If you are a school or organization that is need of books contact us and let us know.

 

Books are on Their Way

Ten Libraries on their Way to Botswana Impacting Over 3000 Children

With the Help of the African Library Project 15,000 books are on their way to Botswana.  They will be divided into ten libraries impacting over three thousand children at various primary schools in the Kgateleng region of Botswana.  Thank you to all that have donated these books and thank you to all of the Books4Cause employees and volunteers who have worked tirelessly sorting and packing the books to be shipped overseas.

We feel so blessed and fortunate to be given the opportunity to make a real positive impact in the world.  Our goal is to work towards giving every child an equal opportunity for success.  Success should not be determined by the geography of where one is born, family circumstance, skin color, or societal expectation. Every person has a right to succeed and we hope we can contribute to that right by providing books and educational materials for people from all walks of life.

Here’s to many more libraries and more positive impact in the world!

 

Libraries receiving new books:

Oliphants Drift Primary School  – 424 students
Mmadipamo Primary School  – 405 students
Letsebe Primary School  –  402 students
Ramogotsi Primary School  –  393 students
Pilane Primary School  –  392 students
Tlhaakgame Primary School  –  330 students
Sikwane Primary School  –  326 students
Mabalane Primary School  –  274 students
Ramonaka Primary School  –  246 students
Ramotlabaki Primary School  –  246 students

 

Donate Books, CDs, and DVDs in Manhattan

We are expanding our book, CD, and DVD collection efforts into the Manhattan area.  We will be doing pickups every other month.

If you are ready to donate books, cds, and dvds fill out our form.   We are a full service company.  We will box up your books, schlep them away, and turn them into vibrant libraries in the Africa area.

We currently do not have a drop off location.

Donate Books in St. Louis Area

Do you live in the St. Louis area and have books piling up and you don’t know what to do with them.  Have your kids moved out of the house and you have gently used children’s books?  We take these books and turn them into African Libraries.  

We have been running book drives every week in the Chicago area and we are expanding to two new locations.  If you have books and you live in the St. Louis area we will be happy to pick them up. We are also running book drives in the Milwaukee area 

We are a full service organization.  We will do all of the heavy lifting and boxing.  Give us a call to schedule a pickup or schedule online to donate books in the St. Louis area.  

Donate Books in Milwaukee Area

Do you live in the Milwaukee area and have books piling up and you don’t know what to do with them.  Have your kids moved out of the house and you have gently used children’s books?  We take these books and turn them into African Libraries.  

We have been running book drives every week in the Chicago area and we are expanding to two new locations.  If you have books and you live in the Milwaukee area we will be happy to pick them up. We are also running book drives in the St. Louis area

We are a full service organization.  We will do all of the heavy lifting and boxing.  Give us a call to schedule a pickup or schedule online to donate books in the Milwaukee area.  

How to Ship Goods for aid to Africa part 1

I get asked this questions a lot. How do you ship books to Africa.  Most people are probably unaware of the size of Africa.  If you look at the info-graphic below you will be amazed that Africa is roughly equal to the United States, China, India, and most of Europe combined.

Therefore when referring to Africa there are many different countries and each has their own unique set of challenges.  Without getting into too much detail I will explain a few of the challenges that will come up and suggest a few different solutions to getting your shipments to Africa.  This article is mostly geared towards those trying to get donated items to Africa.  If you are trying to import/export into Africa there are probably a different set of challenges.

Challenge #1 Corruption:

I’m not sure if this is across the board in every country.  I’m sure there are some countries that are better than others.  The challenge is to make sure that the goods that are being donated reach their intended recipients.  Most of the time the goods are taken by people that will either sell the goods themselves or use them for their own benefit.  One of our partners HSRI was sending cots for a day care center in a village outside of Accra.  Unfortunately some of the cots were taken by some of the adults in the village and used as beds.  I”m sure there are hundreds of stories documenting this corruption.  An organization that sends clothing to Africa notes in their FAQ.

Many of the existing humanitarian efforts that were being undertaken there were plagued by corruption.  I have resolved that I will be physically present during every step of the humanitarian projects Footsteps For Africa undertakes to make sure our aid reaches people in need”

For most people following the goods all the way to their intended recipients isn’t possible.  If it is a small supply of goods that can be brought in suitcases and other packages then it may be beneficial to bring them yourself.  Our partner HSRI brings tens of suitcases and packages filled with clothing, shoes, and gifts.  They are also the ones to distribute to the children in need.  There is still a risk that families will confiscate the good from the children, but there isn’t much that can be done about this.

The other option is to work with an organization that has inroads on the ground in the intended country.  It is very challenging to decipher which organizations are legitimate without having any first hand experience.  There are some established organizations in America and you can go on a site like Charitynavigator to look into their operations.  We chose the African Library Project to help us deliver our books because they had an already established base of organizations on the ground, they have an application process for becoming a recipient, and they have visited those organizations.  They are also a team of highly dedicated volunteers.

 

 

Making Ten Libraries in Botswana

 

With the help of HSRI and the African Library Project we are getting ready to send ten thousand books making up ten libraries to Botswana.  These books will impact 3438 students at ten different primary schools.  I did a quick Google search to see if I could find any of these places on the map.  I was surprised when 7 of the ten places seemingly don’t exist on google maps.  I want to commend the African library project for finding these places and teaming us up with them.  The books will be going out in the middle of November and will arrive in their destinations in early March we will keep you posted.

Here is a list of the ten primary schools that will be getting books.  We could not have done it without you.

Oliphants Drift Primary School  – 424 students
Mmadipamo Primary School  – 405 students
Letsebe Primary School  – 402 students
Ramogotsi Primary School –  393 students
Pilane Primary School  – 392 students
Tlhaakgame Primary School –  330 students
Sikwane Primary School  – 326 students
Mabalane Primary School  – 274 students
Ramonaka Primary School  – 246 students
Ramotlabaki Primary School –  246 students

 

UNA-USA at Robert Morris University in Partnership with Books4Cause 2012 Book-Drive

 

The UNA-USA at Robert Morris University made the collective decision to turn their attention towards Education; more so the lack of literacy in other countries.  After much research the organization partnered up with Book4Cause. Books4Cause runs book drives and book donation campaigns which help fund and support various initiatives locally, nationally, and around the world.

As the project began to develop, the organization set up drop off locations throughout the campus. The word began to travel all through the hallways of Robert Morris University and the enthusiasm to be part of a good cause began to grow.

With each and every member on board, the organization began the book drive with a social mixer to promote the UNA-USA at Robert Morris University in partnership with Books4Cause book drive.  An abundance of students and faculty attended to enjoy food and drinks in addition to learning more about the organization from the members of the UNA-USA at Robert Morris University as well as the President of the Greater Chicago Chapter; Claudia Jaccarino.

Enthusiastic and supportive, a myriad of faculty and students eagerly participated. With the passing of time, drop off locations began to fill up with books for the citizens of Uganda.

Approaching the end of the book drive, UNA-USA at Robert Morris University ardently collected all the books to get a final count. With a projected goal of 500 books, it was a delightful surprise when the total amount of collected books came up to 2,213.  With the books counted and packed up, the UNA-USA at Robert Morris University could now deem their efforts successful.

Where do the Donated Books Go?

Books4Cause finds the best possible use for each book collected in support of our mission to help worthy causes. Books are either sold to raise money for non-profit programs, sent to one of our non-profit partners for use in their programs, or recycled if unsuitable for sale or partner use.

Around 25% of the books are sold to raise money for non-profit programs and shipping costs, around 50% are sent to one of our non-profit partners for use in their programs and around 25% are recycled if unsuitable for sale or partner use.

Most of our donated books are sent to Africa with the assistance of our non-profit partner Human Service Resources, Inc (HSRI). HSRI runs the Good Books for Africa program distributing books to children in classrooms and libraries in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa.

Children’s books are turned into libraries in Africa with the help of the African Library Project.