That's how many books the students and teachers at my school collected during the Scholastic book fair. This allows parents to drop off the old before purchasing the new! 1,000 books were donated and distributed to fill the bookshelves at local women and children's shelters in the metro Atlanta area. WOW!
This is our 3rd year and our 3rd success! If you hosted a ReBook drive, you could always put the books donated into classroom libraries or a sister school if that is where the need is greatest in your community! Just let the parents know where the books are going.
How we do it:
1. Weeks before the book fair, we start sending notices to parents. "Go through your child's books and send us any they have outgrown. Let's pass them along to a new reader!" We let them know that we will accept any book in good condition (including board books and excluding coloring books!)
2. During the book fair, we place LARGE bins right by the entrance. This has been a great reminder and has even resulted in some parents dropping in a new book!
3. We make an announcement reminding everyone! We sit back and watch the books roll in!
4. We deliver the books to Children's Restoration Network and are greeted by the biggest smiles ever!
Our ReBook drive started thanks to an idea from my friend, fellow Mom Congress delegate and Shot@Life champion, Jen Barth. I think it has been successful because we aren't asking for anyone to go out and buy something. We are asking for them to donate the books that their child has outgrown so another child can enjoy them. It is pretty awesome!
If you want to do your own book drive, please let me know! I'd be happy to help you by sharing exactly what we do at each step or even helping find a place to donate! If you already do one, please share a link or information so we can all make our next one a little better!
Happy reading!
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