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A Million Books was created by CommonThreadz, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit helping orphans & vulnerable children in developing nations to reach their full potential through the empowerment of the children, their caretakers & the local grass roots community organizations that support them. A Million Books is a great way for people the world over to show their support by campaigning and donating to give A Million Books to kids and communities in need by 2014. In years of travel to communities in need it became apparent that the #1 thing that is needed is books!
The purpose of A Million Books campaign is for you to be able to help those less fortunate to have a chance of a proper education and to ultimately break the cycle of poverty.
(Source: WorldLibraries.org) "Have you ever stared at a pile of old school books and wondered if someone, somewhere could use them? If so, the thought may have crossed your mind to send them off to a developing country. Surely that would be better than throwing them away...
Perhaps not. My colleagues and I have first-hand experience with the problems caused by book donation in several countries. Here are some things to consider before you give your books to a book donation agency or ship them off to a developing country:
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Are there hidden costs? In many countries, the recipients of a book shipment must pay customs fees, port taxes and other charges. They must also pay to transport the books from the port of entry to their final destination. These costs can often be more than the books are worth! |
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Are the materials in good shape? Books that are outdated, damaged and worthless here are going to be just as useless abroad. Remember that books also mold quickly when shipped by sea. |
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Is the information useful? Rural African schools with no electricity don't need books on microwave cooking or skiing, both of which we have seen on library shelves. |
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Are they in the right language? I know of a library in South Africa that got an entire shipment of moldy books in Czech. Are the materials culturally appropriate? Many books written for US audiences have cultural references that make no sense abroad. They may even be offensive. Romance novels, which seem to be popular donations, are distasteful at best to many in other developing countries. |
In addition to all these points, it is important to consider that book donation can actually HARM school libraries. Many schools do not allocate funds for books because they hope to get them donated. If the donated books are a huge disappointment, this kills support for the library.
Book donation also takes business away from indigenous booksellers and publishers. I cannot stress enough the importance of local publishing. [Many countries] are information rich, but book poor. Without more [local] publishing, huge areas of knowledge will be lost. Entire languages may disappear. Every dollar spent on buying books in [other developing nations] helps to ensure that [local] authors will be able to publish their work in their own countries.
An alternative use for your old books would be to sell them and donate the money to a program that purchases new books for schools and libraries in developing countries.
If enough people ask, book donation organizations may even change their policies and start purchasing some materials abroad. When you consider the costs of shipping, you can often get a lot more books for the buck by buying them in [the local country of need]."
Many times we are purchasing books through partnerships and grants provided to other select non-profit organizations. In other situations, CommonThreadz will procure the books directly for communities. In either case, 100 of funds are used for purchasing the books and no funds are diverted to administrative costs. Books will be purchased exclusively for projects in developing countries and the communities receiving the books direct us and our partners as to which books they need most.
La Planta Barrio Project in San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua to provide much needed books for the children they serve on a daily basis. The teachers provided their wish list and the books were procured in Managua with wholesale pricing. Now the teachers and kids have the specific books they need to provide a proper education!
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An all expense trip to Central America or Africa will be awarded to the person that raises the most funds on their PERSONAL fundraising page (vs. a TEAM fundraising page) at the end of each year. There is a minimum of $4,000 raised to qualify. |
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Anybody that raises over $200 on their PERSONAL fundraising page (vs. a TEAM fundraising page) will win a free elephant hair bracelet. To redeem, email info@commonthreadz.org and include the URL of your personal A Million Books fundraising page, name and mailing address. |
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Anybody that raises over $400 will also win a free Common Threadz t-shirt of their choosing. To redeem, email info@commonthreadz.org and include the URL of your personal A Million Books fundraising page, the URL of shirt, size and mailing address. |
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You can check the status of your fundraising on the A Million Books home page. |
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The competition for the free trip to deliver books in Central America or Africa is held annually. All other competitions are ongoing unless otherwise notified. |
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All donations need to be completed online or mailed to us (payable to "Common Threadz") at 2306 Westrock Drive, Austin TX 78704 by 11:59pm CST on Dec 31 of each year until 2014. |
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The individual that has raised the most funds on their PERSONAL fundraising page (vs. a TEAM fundraising page) will be announced on Jan 3 at the beginning of each year until 2014. |
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You can check the status of your fundraising on the A Million Books home page. |
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Google provides Common Threadz with free advertising for the A Million Books campaign. http://www.google.com |
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ActionProfiles.com is the source for connecting to the Action Sports Industry. They have created a networking platform that is designed to bring people closer to the specific sport they are passionate about. AP provides us with free advertising on their site and offers special incentives to AP members to participate in the A Million Books campaign. http://www.actionprofiles.com |
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Green House Data is an eco-friendly data center based in Wyoming. Green House Data provides us with free hosting and data back ups in addition to advertising space for the A Million Books campaign on their website. http://www.greenhousedata.com |
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The Austainable Properties Team is pioneering a more sustainable community through our local Austin real estate practice. They extend their real estate passion and sustainable living expertise to new construction as well as older properties of every decade and design. Austainable provides CommonThreadz with free advertising online and at events in Austin. http://www.austainable.com |
Everyone who makes a donation will be emailed a tracking #when their books are ready to be delivered that they can enter below to get the details on where, and to whom their books are given to. In addition, the tracking # may be used to keep up to date on how the books contribute and improve the overall living situation in the community over time. Just continue to enter your tracking # below to view ongoing updates!
To track your books please enter your books tracking # below:
If you prefer to send a donation by check, please make the check payable to "Common Threadz." If sending the donation to sponsor an individual participating in this fundraiser, please write their name and team name in the memo of the check so we can apply the donation to that individual / team.
Please send all donations by check to:
Common Threadz
2306 Westrock Drive
Austin, TX 78704
Please note that if you donate by clicking the button below it will NOT be associated with a team or team member. If you prefer to donate to a team or team member, please find their page and donate from the team or team member's page.
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