Posted by Aaron King, Director and Yanna Ogilvie, Senior Regional Director

Phi Theta Kappa Members Walk for Sudan

~

We all know that Phi Theta Kappa members are great, and we count on them to run some of our best Book Drives.  We were recently touched by a story of a group that is not only running a Better World Books book drive, but also reaching out to try to help coordinate something amazing.

Many of us have heard the plight of the 27,000 “lost boys” of Sudan, their perilous 1,000 mile walk  left more than half dead, and the rest came home to a country devastated by war, bare of essentials like clean water and schools. Matt Hoffman, a Phi Theta Kappa member at Illinois Central College, was touched by these horrific stories and moved to immediate action. Matt reflects, “A good friend of mine, Sean Fahey from Endless Eye informed me that his 501C3 had committed to raising funds to shoot a documentary film to raise awareness about the situation in Southern Sudan.”

Sean’s organization has been working with Justin Machien Luoi (www.pacodes.org), a Lost Boy, to build a library, a school, and provide clean water for Panyijiar County, Southern Sudan.  Matt wanted to know how Upsilon Mu, Illinois Central College's Phi Theta Kappa chapter, could get involved.  They talked for a few hours that night and decided to design a "walk event" in Peoria, Illinois. That is how Walk Sudan was born.

Walk Sudan is a project intended to raise awareness and funds to build a library in Panyijiar County, Southern Sudan, a region that has been devastated by 20 years of civil war and ethnic conflict.

Matt is reaching out to Phi Theta Kappa members to help with this great cause, “I’ve been fortunate to witness the generosity, passion, and perseverance exhibited by Phi Theta Kappans and I know that, with a little effort, we can help rebuild Southern Sudan and become part of something bigger than ourselves!”

In addition to helping coordinate the walk, Matt and his chapter are going to run their campus Better World Books book drive as usual; only this time, they are going to take the funding they earn from this book drive and graciously give it to the Sudan Project!

Better World Books and Books for Africa have begun working on a partnership with Walk Sudan to help pay for the shipping of books to Sudan. Pat Plonski, Director Books for Africa, comments "The need for books in Sudan is enormous because of the difficulty involved in shipping to that country.  The roads are very bad, and going to Southern Sudan represents a shipment almost to the very heart of Africa, which greatly increases the costs and logistical hurdles involved. For these reasons, we really appreciate the opportunity to work with partners like these who are willing to go the extra mile and get these books where they are so desperately needed."
Better World Books will be using money from the newly created BWB fund in addition to money generated by Walk Sudan to help cover the cost of shipping. If you are interested in helping Walk Sudan reach their goal of building and stocking a library in Southern Sudan please contact Matt Hoffman (mhoffman23@mchsi.com).

Links to more information:
http://revver.com/video/698354/walk-sudan/ - our video (produced by Endless Eye)
http://pacodes.org/
www.endlesseye.org
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1177134747 - our Facebook
http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2007/12/10/news/state/144197.txt - some press re: Justin's efforts

Posted by Jack Hanlon, CBO & Evangelist

We're on Facebook!  Yup.  If you go here you can become a fan of Better World Books, along with the myriad others who have done so (100+ in the first 4 hours!).

Also, if you check our YouTube channel (yeah, we're kind of a big deal) then you can check out the latest videos and some of our favorite videos as well. 

If you're feeling a little lazy and already added us on Facebook you can check out one video here...

Posted by David Murphy, CEO

Hello everyone.  Take a look at the attached .pdf from Books for Africa. 

Sullivan Summit.pdf (911.48 KB) 

This flyer was sent to all 500+ delegates attending the "Sullivan Summit" in Arusha, Tanzania.  Note that Better World Books, through the Better World Books Fund within Books For Africa, is sponsoring the shipment and that the books will be distributed by the Poverty Eradication Network (PEN) in Tanzania. Natasha Harris, Niko Tomlinson, Mary Murphy, Jaime Knabet, Dustin Holland and myself visited the PEN folks in the summer of 2006 and have continued to stay in touch with them (Mungwe and Andrea).  They do fantastic work (based in Dodoma, the national capital of Tanzania) throughout the country.

To find out more about the Sullivan Summit VIII, go to www.thesullivanfoundation.org/summit/.

Posted by David Murphy, President and CEO

Make sure to read the March 21st article in the New York Times written by David Brooks, entitled "Thoroughly Modern Do-Gooders".  This is an excellent article on Social Entrepreneurship and there are many points from the article that connect directly with what we have built here at Better World Books.

Posted by Jack Hanlon, CBO & Evangelist

Check out this month's edition of our recurring feature, Worldfund's Student of the Month.  Worldfund is our Latin American non-profit literacy partner and we look to support them in any way we can as they support youths such as:




Dina!

Six-year-old Dina is a kindergarten student at Worldfund’s partner school in El Salvador, Mano Amiga San Antonio . A confident and friendly girl, Dina works hard in school and helps with chores at home.

Sadly, she already has experienced myriad hardships, including a life of poverty, abandonment by her father, and the death of her mother. Dina and her younger brother Oscar live with their elderly grandmother, Adela. Until recently, they lived in a house that was constructed with sticks and scrap materials and located in a community made up of small islands surrounded by raw sewage and trash.

In 2006, the school’s Director arranged for Dina to attend Mano Amiga San Antonio. Dina’s enrollment marked a turning point in the lives of everyone in her family. Dina’s brother Oscar is now a student at the school, and the Director facilitated the family’s move into a house in CIDECO (Centro Integral de Desarrollo Comunitario), a special community affiliated with the school that provides housing, medical care and access to literacy, hygiene and other classes that help families live with dignity and transition out of poverty. Adela, Dina and Oscar have benefited from the activities and classes, learning to eat with plates and utensils, and learning about personal hygiene, among other things.

The scholarship that Dina receives enables her to receive a high-quality education and she takes advantage of all that the school has to offer. Since Dina enrolled in the school, her attitude has improved significantly. She especially enjoys attending her pre-mathematics class and playing soccer with her friends.

The stark contrast between Dina’s life before and after enrolling in the school demonstrates the transformative effect that generous donations and high-quality education have on impoverished children’s lives.

Post swiped from the NCFL's hot new blog, "Literacy Now."

The good times just keep rolling! Here are some of the conference highlights from Monday:

• 
  David Murphy of Better World Books helped open the general session with thoughts about how Better World Books are working to .merge commerce and philanthropy in a way that will make the world a better place. One simple way to do that…shop BetterWorld.com to buy books from a company that balances profit, planet, and people.
• Marie Bradby shared the background and inspiration for her book, More Than Anything Else.
• The NCFL photo booth wrapped up with almost 70 groups visiting and having their pictures made. Keep an eye out for your picture in your local paper!

And we were honored with some great coverage in the local newspaper in Louisville. Click here to see the online version of Monday’s article in the Courier-Journal.

Photo gallery and comment over at the original post

Posted by Abby Rae LaCombe, Rocky Mountain Regional Director

Niko [Tomlinson, Midwest Senior Director] and I got to meet up with Dustin [Holland, Head of Acquisitions] and LPTZ (the Library Division) yesterday to see John Wood speak here in Minneapolis. It was really awesome. John Wood is a FUNNY guy, and handsome as heck, and he started Room to Read – very cool cat. Very sincere cat. He really believes in the mission of RTR. He was discussing the ultimate dreams of the organization and said that anywhere there is illiteracy is where Room to Read eventually wants to be. They are planning to expand farther into Africa this year and eventually, who knows, perhaps the whole globe will have RTR schools and libraries available.

Anyhoo, he gave a bunch of new RTR numbers that I thought I’d pass on. I think a lot of this is available through their website, but why fish in a lake when you can aim in a barrel?* Exactly.

Read the rest of the article after the jump.

Posted by Aaron King, Director

[This is Part Six of Aaron's "Campus Division in Cambodia" story. Here's Part Five and this is the final installment!]

Friday January 4, 2008

I think it can go without saying that we began our day with a delicious breakfast at the hotel. Our first stop today was to visit a couple of floating schools; schools actually on large boats in the river. Apparently as the seasons change, and the fishing areas change, and the level of the river changes, this school can be in several areas up and down the river. We were told that one challenge is that sometimes during the rainy season, some families will leave the village, and the students are unable to attend school.

Posted by Aaron King, Director

[This is Part Five of Aaron's "Campus Division in Cambodia" story. Here's Part Four and look out for the subsequent tales in the coming week...]

Thursday January 3, 2008

Believe it or not, we again began the day with a phenomenal breakfast. We met up with a few RTR staff, and then took a van out to see the first school. Upon entrance, all the students were lined up and clapping for us. Similar to the fanfare of our first night, this was quite humbling; these students were so appreciative of RTR, and I was left feeling like I hadn’t done enough.

Posted by Aaron King, Director

[This is Part Four of Aaron's "Campus Division in Cambodia" story. Here's Part Three and look out for the subsequent tales in the coming week...]

Tuesday January 1, 2008

5am felt more like the end of the night than the beginning of a day. Unfortunately, this was too early for the breakfast buffet, so we had to forgo it and instead have breakfast to go in a box. We drove and hiked out to the temples in almost complete darkness. To our surprise, there must have been hundreds of people out there making the trip to see the first sunrise of the New Year over the temple. When the sun rose up over the temple, and cast a reflection on the pool in front, it was quite astonishing. I cannot imagine a better way to ring in the New Year than the overall experience I had in Cambodia.

Posted by Jack Hanlon, CBO & Evangelist

Check out this month's edition of our recurring feature, Worldfund's Student of the Month.  Worldfund is our Latin American non-profit literacy partner and we look to support them in any way we can as they support youths such as:



Bruno!

Seventeen-year-old Bruno was born and raised in Salvador, Bahia, where he lives with his mother, a domestic worker, and his two younger sisters.

Bruno has always liked electronics and is working towards becoming an engineer. When he was 14, he was accepted into the Steve Biko Institute’s three-year, intensive after-school Oguntec Program, which prepares disadvantaged Afro-Brazilian students for the vestibular (university entrance exam). Last year, at age 16, Bruno took his first exam for admission to the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) and passed the first phase for Electrical Engineering. Bruno graduated from high school in December 2007 and hopes to begin his university studies in 2008.

Bruno believes that his participation in the Oguntec Program was the best thing that ever happened to him. It was as a student in this program that he learned that the word “quit” is not part of his vocabulary. He also learned that for a young man from a poor neighborhood, completing high school is not enough. He needs to dream of attending university. Bruno’s goals include attending university, establishing a career, and changing the economic situation of his family.

As Bruno states, “Attending university will make me the first, the first child, the first grandson, the first nephew in one generation to believe in the DREAM. Afterwards, I would like to return the Steve Biko Institute and become a professor in the Oguntec Program which I believe should always continue. It was at the Institute that I learned to have a social commitment.”

Posted by Jack Hanlon, CBO & Evangelist

I reported earlier about the Great American Word Challenge, a nationwide online contest that pit cities against one another to measure their greatness, not by the height of their skyscrapers, but by the depth of their vocabularies. Fresno received the highest cumulative average score and took the title and the prize: a Ubisoft donation of My Word Coach video games and Nintendo DS™ systems to a local family literacy center selected by the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL). The beneficiary organization is the Fresno County Library Literacy Services Center, which provides free reading, writing, spelling, and math tutoring to Fresno County adults that cannot read or write English.

“The city of Fresno is always proud to support family literacy,” said Deputy Mayor Jeff Eben. “We are excited to have won the 'Great American Word Challenge' and thank all Fresno's residents who participated so successfully in this fun and creative Challenge.”

With thousands of contestants putting their vocabulary skills to the test since November 1, 2007, the “Great American Word Challenge” proved which American cities could walk the walk AND talk the talk:

-- In addition to Fresno, the following cities rounded out the top four positions:

-- Salisbury, Maryland (2nd place)

-- Mankato, Minnesota (3rd place)

-- Albuquerque, New Mexico (4th place)

-- Oakland, California (5th place)

-- Overall, the U.S. received a B- average grade on their vocabulary with a national average score of 167 out of 205 (81%)

-- And here's how long-time city rivals stacked up:

-- Oakland is the smartest Bay Area city, beating out San Francisco, Berkeley, and San Jose!

-- Despite preliminary results showing Brooklyn in the lead, at final count Manhattan is the highest-scoring New York City borough. The Bronx is the lowest-scoring borough. Here's how the boroughs stacked up against each other:

1. Manhattan

2. Queens

3. Brooklyn

4. Staten Island

5. The Bronx

-- Twin Cities? Not exactly. Minneapolis established itself as the more literate of the two, scoring 168 compared to St. Paul's 140.

-- Good (and smart) things come in small packages: Pasadena might be just an eighth the size of its sprawling neighbor, Los Angeles, but it's 16% smarter! Pasadena scored 178 compared to Los Angeles, which scored a mere 154. Article from Business Wire

Posted by Jack Hanlon, CBO & Evangelist

As the resident evangelist and blogger I take whatever opportunity I can to talk about the great things that we do here at Better World Books. Considering the amount of positive emails I get, this is a relatively easy task, however sometimes, it gets even easier. After the jump (click the "Read More" button below the post) check out these letters from the Republic of Guinea written to Books for Africa from schools and missions expressing their gratitude. Through our book donations and funding and support, Better World Books is proud to be a part of a group that creates impact at places like this:

-Amazonion Bilingual School
-International Community College, Guinea
-Kwane Nkruma High School, Guinea
-Nelson Mandela English Academy
-Mission U.E.P. Primary School, Guinea
-The Conakry Grammar School, Guinea
-Faith International School, Guinea
-International Refugee Committee School
-Princess Diana Memorial Refugee School
-Women of Jesus
-Conakry International School
-Sabu International School
-Trust International School
-Sierra International School
-Call of Hope Mission International

Posted by Andy Warzon, Chief Technology Officer

Recently I had the opportunity to visit Liberia with others from Better World Books and Books for Africa. Liberia is a small country in West Africa that has been through horrific civil war for 14 years before finally re-establishing peace in 2003. Needless to say, just about every institution in the country is starting from zero, slowly building back up, and that includes their universities.

Cuttington University (map) is a rural 4-year university in Liberia. It is the oldest coed 4-year university in West Africa, considered by many to be the country’s most prestigious institution of higher education. It also happens to be quite close to the farm of Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia who is currently on trial at the International Court of Justice in the Hague.

So here’s what I mean about “starting from zero”… four years ago, this prestigious university had no roofs on its buildings and no books in its library. The campus was ransacked during the wars… most of the books in the library were burned as fuel for fires.

Our group was able to meet with leaders from the university and hear their needs. Better World Books has committed to funding, through Books for Africa, the shipment of two 40-foot sea containers full of books (that’s 80,000 books) to Liberia for the country’s universities.

Cuttington is in dire need of books, so Liberia’s brightest minds can be educated to help pull this country out of war-ravaged poverty. I think I speak for everyone at Better World Books when I say that we’re honored to be helping Cuttington.

www.flickr.com

Posted by Jack Hanlon, CBO & Evangelist



Great news from the NCFL, I'll let them tell the story:

eHarlequin.com issues 2008 100,000 Book Challenge
Year-long event will benefit NCFL programs

eHarlequin.com has challenged its community members to read an astounding 100,000 books in one year in the 2008 eHarlequin.com 100,000 Book Challenge.  At the end of the year, Harlequin will make an unprecedented donation of an equivalent number of books to the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL). The estimated retail value of a 100,000 book donation to NCFL by Harlequin Enterprises Ltd. is $700,000.

In addition to promoting literacy, the 2008 eHarlequin.com 100,000 Book Challenge encourages readers to discuss the titles they’ve read on the eHarlequin.com Web site in their own blogs.  Those participating in the challenge share their thoughts, reviews, opinions, recommendations and progress.  The 2008 eHarlequin.com 100,000 Book Challenge is taking place right now at eHarlequin.com. In one short week 350+ participants have accepted the 2008 100,000 Book Challenge and already read some 1,000+ books. Click here to find out more about the Book Challenge or how to participate.

Alright ladies, get reading!

Posted by Silvia Sweidan, Northwest Regional Director

According to an article by Carol S., who is asking the simple question of, “How Big is Africa?”: Africa is about the same size as the US, China and Europe added together. It is the world's second largest continent, with 11,670,000 square miles constituting just over 20% of the earth's total landmass. Those statistics are critical in understanding Better World Books relationship and support to its largest literacy partner, Books for Africa!

In further exploring her questions, Carol views a map of Africa on Books for Africa’s website and finds a detailed map of Africa. (See below!) Then she discovers Better World Books, the largest supporter of Books for Africa’s projects--distributing textbooks to schools all over Africa. Books for Africa will be 20 years old this year and has sent 18 million books to schools and libraries all over the Continent. With the great support of Better World Books, Books for Africa will continue its incredible mission in supplementing and sustaining literacy in the second largest continent on earth!

Posted by Jack Hanlon, CBO & Evangelist

Exciting news about the NCFL from the Courier-Journal, in Louisville, KY:

The National Center for Family Literacy, based in Louisville, has named Deborah Hasson director of the Hispanic Learning Institute and co-director of Toyota Programs, which focus on serving Hispanic and other immigrant families. Hasson, the daughter of Argentine immigrants, formerly was an assistant professor and program coordinator at Florida State University.

Related: We talked about the NCFL's commitment to Hispanic Learning

Posted by Natasha Harris, Pacific Senior Director

We've been getting a lot of requests to see photos from our Cambodia trip, so I thought I'd include a few below from our shared repertoire.  Click on the individual link of any picture to make it bigger.


I'd also like to take this opportunity to say that I feel so lucky to be part of such a passionate and amazing team of people.  Spending these weeks together visiting Room to Read projects was as reaffirming and incredible as I could ever imagine.  You're a great and talented bunch and I'm so glad I've had the opportunity to learn from each of you!

Posted by F. Xavier Helgesen, Co-Founder

What a crazy five days it has been! We arrived at the Sundance Film Festival the day before it started on January 16. We'd been asked to take part in The Giving Suite at Sundance Film Festival, which takes the concept of an exclusive celebrity gifting suite and turns it on its head. At this Suite, everyone is welcome, and people buy eco-friendly products (and books!) with 100% of proceeds going to charity.

We're hoping to fund a lot of girls' scholarships through Room to Read's "Room to Grow" program. We set up a mini-bookshop of about 150 carefully selected titles, and of course people could shop BetterWorld.com if they couldn't find something on the shelves.

I'll be posting much more from the festival soon. For now, a few photos:

Some new friends showing off their "Speak softly and carry a bag of books." tote bags from Better World Books.






Well Read indeed! The Book Throne: it's everywhere you want to be.

Posted by Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director

It's now over 50 years since Rudolf Flesch released his blockbuster book "Why Johnny Can't Read," questioning some of education's failures in the US, particularly in reference to literacy. Now half a century later, the problem continues, and educators face even more struggles teaching in classrooms that not only face the kind of socioeconomic diversity that have characterized the challenge of public schooling for years, but now a new kind of challenge has taken hold.  Many students, particularly in the Latino community (15% of all non-institutionalized citizens by the March 2006 census), come from backgrounds in which the first language is not English or English is not spoken in the home.

In reference to this demographic, Richard Riley, former Secretary of Education (1993-2001) in the US commented in his March of 2000 speech, "54 percent of all teachers have limited English proficient (LEP) students in their classrooms, yet only one-fifth of teachers feel very prepared to serve them."

In response to this state of affairs, the NCFL, our partner in US literacy, sponsors hundreds of programs all around the US and they have never been more important than today.  You don't have to become a teacher to help the situation, check out the NCFL's website for ideas.  Their latest approach offers "five $600,000 educational grants to benefit hispanic and other immigrant families for literacy efforts."  It's not just Johnny who can't read.

Posted by Natasha Harris, Pacific Senior Director

(The following is a two part post, follow the link below for the rest of part two and part one is the post beneath this one)

I think back on my childhood and on the privileged path I’ve been on since the age of two. I’ve always been a reader – a passion that was heavily supported by my family and my teachers throughout my formative years. In all my life, I’ve never suffered for the lack of a good book to read. I’ve also been given plenty of recognition and offered numerous scholarships to help me achieve my dreams. I grew up in a country where I was taught that if I think big and believe in myself there is no threshold I cannot cross – no barrier to keep me from my dreams. How much of this have I taken for granted? How many classes have I skipped in my life because I had something “better” to do? I look back on myself and my classmates growing up and I realize that all of us – the richest of us, the poorest, the most clever and more challenged – we all approached our education with at least some degree of indifference, at least some of the time. And why not? Education was always a given, at least through high school. I remember whining about going back to school after a long vacation, wishing I could spend my days outside instead of being cooped up in a classroom with all of its rules and expectations. Cambodia put that all in perspective.

Posted by Natasha Harris, Senior West Coast Director

(The following is a two part post, follow the link below for the rest of part one and part two will be the post following this one)

I’m currently sitting in a Los Angeles coffee shop sipping on a rather tasty latte that cost (gulp) a whopping $3.65. That’s some perspective. Just last week I would probably have been sipping an even more delicious cup of Vietnamese coffee (probably at this very moment, as it’s 6pm here, and Vietnam is 15 hours into the future – 9am breakfast) that cost all of $.33 and came from a cup that did not have the Starbucks label on it.

Since back, I’ve sat down several times to put down a few words about my experiences in Southeast Asia for all of you. It’s been difficult to find words to express all that I experienced while there, and several times I’ve put aside my notes for other things, waiting for the words to come to me.

Posted by Sarah Lynne Reul, Senior East Coast Director

Another great update from Martha Schouten at the University of Oran in Algeria, recent recipient of a Better World Books-funded Books for Africa shipment. Check out previous posts here:
-University of Oran Receives BFA Books!,
-Better World Books Funds Shipment to the University of Oran in Algeria,
-University of Oran gets ready for books!,
-University of Oran update)



Dear Pat and Sarah Lynne,

Life goes by slowly here in Algeria and so do our books' preparations. The students worked all Christmas-El Kebir vacation then I went to Spain for a week to see my son and the Algerian librarian went to Paris for a week and now we are finally back to class. Most of 300 boxes have been listed for the rector and are about ready to circulate in the large library in the language department. The rector is determined to protect the books and to keep a diligent watch on them. Students will only be able to consult the titles of the books in order to check out from the large library. For the moment there is not enough security and the students and teachers are little accustomed to any other method.

My English club members are now working on our smaller walk-through library. If this goes well then the larger library will allow walk through too.  We have to make cards for each book we have selected and also put them into the computer. Our collection comes almost last then we will make a donation to the University of Mostaganam about 30 miles East from here along the coast. The teachers have come to see me and are overwhelmed at the variety of the generous gift you have made us. The medical literature has gone to the medical school already to my knowledge and the children's books to another children's library near the main campus of translation and law.

I am sending a few pictures of the library permanent crew and my students. We had a barbecue of merguez (grilled mutton sausage) and all the trimmings the first day we were back in class. We are on campus not too far from the library. I hope you both enjoy them.

Martha Schouten and English students
ELF Es-Senia
Oran Algeria

Posted by Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director

Each month, Worldfund profiles a student helped by their program for their "Student of the Month."  In the past we have featured a few of them, but now we will run a small feature each month profiling the lucky student in question.


Smile, Edith!

January 2008's student is 4th grader Edith from Mano Amiga León in Mexico.
Edith also benefits from the support of her seven siblings, many of whom attended Mano Amiga.

Edith’s family has always had financial difficulties, but when her father died of cancer three years ago, the family’s already precarious situation worsened. Since that time, the grief-stricken children and their mother have struggled to survive.

A defining characteristic of Worldfund’s partner schools is the personal attention given to each student and his or her unique and often difficult circumstances. When Edith enrolled at Mano Amiga León, the school immediately provided her with special attention to help her cope with the loss and changes in her life. She and her brother also received scholarships that cover the costs of their books and class materials.

Because of her school, ten-year-old Edith is one of the few fortunate students to have an older sibling in college, and she is now acquiring the emotional and intellectual tools she will need to follow in her brother’s footsteps.

Posted by Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director


[Rolandas Town, Acrylic from CT Review]

I know it sounds crazy but I actually do something other than this blog.  In fact, I'm a regional director, and my region is New York, Connecticut and Ontario.  In Connecticut, I work with the Golden Key chapter at Central Connecticut State University.  From my contact with them I knew that they had their act together, always putting forth the best effort, but little did I know that the Better World Books drive was only part of their effort.

Recently, the chapter compelled members of the campus to help collect books to be donated overseas to US troops.  They received 400 copies of the illustrious Connecticut Review.

The semi-annual journal as been published since 1967 and has included literary plays, translations, creative nonfiction and essays as well as poetry, artwork, photography and academic articles of general interest. In recent years Connecticut Review has won awards from the Council of Editors of Learned Journals and National Public Radio. Pieces published in the magazine have also earned Pushcart Prizes and appeared in Best American Short Stories, Best American Essays, and Best American Poetry.

I am consistently impressed in my capacity as an RD with the abilities of student groups to affect change and create positive development in their community and abroad. Great work, CCSU!

I found out about this over at Cool Justice.

[N.B.  The views at said website are the author's own and do not represent the views of Better World Books or yours truly.]

Posted by Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director



As you read last month, instead of using your Google search you can opt to use "Search Kindly" (original post).  But some of you resisted saying that you prefer Yahoo search.  Well intrepid Yahoo users, get on board with "GoodSearch."

Same idea as Search Kindly, only instead of one charity per month receiving the money, you can choose your charity on the input bar underneath the search area.  Books for Africa, the NCFL and Room to Read are all involved in it and can receive your virtual donations via searching right away.  The ASPCA has earned $10.900 from people's searches, so get on their, pick a literacy partner and get a-searchin'.