Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Keep Those Books Moving!

Do you own too many books to fit on your shelves?  If you live in the Philadelphia area, I will accept your surplus books for donation, with the proceeds going to Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO), an exceptional program.  SHOFCO is in Kibera, an enormous slum outside of Nairobi, Kenya, lacking all civic infrastructure, including public schools. One of SHOFCO's programs which I love the most is the Kibera School for Girls, which provides a free, top-notch elementary school education, two daily meals, uniforms and health care to some of the world's poorest girls.  They are now healthy, learning, and thriving.  This miracle takes money, and the resale of your books goes, literally, straight into the SHOFCO checking account to support our scholarship student,  Ashley Adhiambo .
Whether she is participating in class or leading a song, Ashley brings a certain spunkiness and excitement to everything she does. Ashley is very active; during dance class at KSG Summer Camp, Ashley was one of the best dancers is the Kindergarten class. She effortlessly remembered all of the steps. Ashley is also incredibly intelligent. This makes sense, because when Ashley grows up, she wants to be a teacher. Ashley is creative, especially when it comes to drawing, which she is very talented at. She also cares deeply for her classmates and often shares snacks she brings from home with other students. Ashley is a leader of the Kindergarten class, and it is obvious what a positive impact KSG is having on her life. Who knows what will happen in the future for Ashley–maybe she will even be a teacher at KSG.


And, due to the success of Bookcycler - thanks, all you who have donated! - we are sponsoring a second student, an entering Kindergarten student, Phylis Amwoku.  Welcome to the Kibera School for Girls, Phylis.  You just won a Lottery Ticket!

Here is what a scholarship provides:
  • education expenses (teacher salaries, school supplies and curriculum)
  • daily nourishment (two meals/day)
  • psycho-social support
  • uniforms
  • field trips
  • primary healthcare at our Johanna Justin-Jinich Community Clinic.  
  • Sponsor funds may also be used to cover the costs of prescription medications, eyeglasses, dental work, and even special dietary needs.
Here's the deal:
  • You can drop off up to 20 books at a time.
  • Books must have an ISBN numbers. These came into use in the 1970's.  
  • No pulp paperbacks. 
  • No out of copyright old classics: they are now available for free electronic downloads and no one buys them.
  • Books must be in good condition.  No moldy or water-stained books.
Here is what I do:
  • Books with high resale value will be resold individually on Amazon.com.
  • Books with resale value under $5 will be donated to BetterWorldBooks, a social business which resells books and promotes literacy with its profits, or given away locally via NW Philly Freecycle.  You can watch a cool time-line of Better World Book's ten years as a social business here.
Here is what I do NOT do:
  • This is based on trust.  I cannot track what happens to any individual book.
  • I cannot provide a tax receipt, since the books are aggregated, and Kibera receives a biweekly deposit from Amazon directly into their checking account. The aggregated amount is in the right sidebar.
  • I am donating my labor so together we can provide a scholarship for Ashley Adhiambo.  I cannot pick up your books. 
For the drop-off address, email me - Karen Rowley - aussiefan@comcast.net

Special thanks to our letter carrier, the strong and beautiful Odelia Jackson, who has been so cheerfully efficient about picking up over 275 books & 76 cartons!

Thanks for your support!