Posted by Aaron King, Director of Campus Division



I just read about this amazing concept: Getting laptops for everyone in the world! They designed a new robust amazing laptop, made it cheap, made it fun... and i wont try to do it justice here, check it out: http://www.laptopgiving.org/en/explore.php

For a limited time, you can "give one, get one", buy one of these bad boys for yourself and send one to a child in need. and, it is tax deductible! Load it up!

I just did it, I feel great about it, and I can't wait to get my new toy....

Also, you get a free T-mobile wi-fi access for a year... wow, this thing is practically free!

[Ed: check out the news about the recent spat with Intel and other things at One Laptop Per Child News]

Posted by Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director

As many of you may know, December 1st is World AIDS Awareness Day.  From the World AIDS Day site:

According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.2 million people living with HIV, including 2.5 million children. During 2007 some 2.5 million people became newly infected with the virus. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35.

Around 95% of people with HIV/AIDS live in developing nations. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world.

Started on 1st December 1988, World AIDS Day is not just about raising money, but also about increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education. World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done.

[...] The 2007 theme, “leadership”, highlights the need for innovation, vision and perseverance in the face of the AIDS challenge. The campaign calls on all sectors of society such as families, communities and civil society organizations - rather than just governments - to take the initiative and provide leadership on AIDS.

There you go, click the link and find out how to help.

You may be saying "I understand why you bring in environmental issues on the blog, Better World Books has a triple bottom line that emphasizes environmental impact, but why a focus on AIDS today?" (although you're likely not using these exact words...)

Well, reader, note the following:
”Recognizing that poverty, underdevelopment and illiteracy are among the principal contributing reasons to the spread of HIV/AIDS…”

(Para 11, United Nations General Assembly (UNGASS)
Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS 2001)

Now you get it, right? Our work everyday with literacy partners Worldfund, Books for Africa, Room to Read and The National Center for Family Literacy is all about getting books and education to the people that most need them. In this way we make our effort to battle poverty, underdevelopment and illiteracy, the very things that the UN has identified as the "principal contributing reasons to the spread of HIV."

We don't just talk a big game folks, we walk it. So get out there, tell a friend, spread the word, start a book drive, or buy a book, but make sure to do something to live out the tenet that "we must be the change we wish to see in the world." -Ghandi

Posted by Roselle Agner, Mid-South Regional Director



The following blog post is from Tim Stewart working with the Belmont (University) Volunteers for Literacy to run a drive:

For the past 2 years, Belmont Volunteers for Literacy, a student run group dedicated to improving literacy among children and adults in the Nashville community through educating students about the problem of illiteracy and involving students in literacy tutoring, has participated in the Better World Books Book Drive in order to assist in funding their annual Family Literacy Day.

Belmont’s Annual Family Literacy Day, which was begun in the spring of 2000, is designed to celebrate the joys of reading with children and their parents in our community. Serving as a culmination of the various ongoing tutoring and service projects that students are engaged in throughout the school year, the event involves more than 150 student volunteers and engages 200 – 300 children annually. Student groups organize “Reading Circles” with different themes. One fraternity, for example, dresses up like pirates and reads pirate stories. Nursing students have done health themes and read fun children’s books about the importance of taking care of our bodies.

In addition to the Reading Circles, we have reading related games and crafts and the children can get their faces painted like their favorite character in a book. Refreshments and door prizes round out the festivities and each child has the opportunity to choose a book or two to take home from a large collection of books donated by a local literacy organization.

Though additional funding is necessary to put on the event, the portion we receive from our Fall and Spring Book Drives provides a significant contribution to our efforts. We are pleased to be able to support literacy initiatives both globally and locally through our partnership with Better World Books.

Sincerely,
Tim Stewart

Posted by Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director

World Change Starts
With Educated Children®

Our partners are always making big news. I can hardly post something on here before something new and exciting comes out about the same group. For example, before we showed you Room to Read at the Clinton Global Initiative, and you would think that would be enough excitement for a while, but alas reader, you would be mistaken. My inbox tells me today that Room to Read is up to more big things. Feel free to check out the full newsletter or my digest below for you busy types.

GOOD Magazine
Room to Read has partnered with GOOD Magazine since 2006 to benefit children in the developing world through GOOD's unique subscription/donor model. Founded by Ben Goldhirsch in 2004, the magazine seeks to "do good" in the world by contributing 100% of subscription revenue to twelve selected charities. Through this "Choose Good" campaign, subscribers select the charity they would like their donation to go to - this year they have contributed over $52,000 to Room to Read! [emphasis mine]

In addition to donating subscription fees to charities, GOOD hosts a number of events around the country to spread awareness about the Choose Good campaign and their charity partners. These events are always a lot of fun and offer a great opportunity to meet other individuals who are passionate about changing the world. For a list of upcoming GOOD events, please visit: www.goodmagazine.com.

The Literacy Site
Room to Read has been selected as a charity partner of the Literacy Site, which is dedicated to funding free books for children. With a simple daily click of the "Click Here to Give - it's FREE" button at The Literacy Site, visitors help provide free books to children in need. Visitors pay nothing. The funding of these books is paid for by advertising site sponsors and accomplished through the site's charitable partners, Room to Read and First Book.

On average, 70,000 individuals visit the site each day to click the "Click Here to Give - it's FREE" button. To date, more than 55 million visitors have helped provide more than a million books to children who need them the most. We hope you will bookmark the site and visit everyday to click and help children in need get free books. Every click counts!

Little notes (still N.B.!):

• Room to Read and John Wood are featured on page 59-60 in Bill Clinton's book Giving
• John Wood and Erin Ganju, Room to Read's COO, were invited to a breakfast at the White House with the First Lady Laura Bush
• Room to Read is the featured charity in Neiman Marcus' 100th Year Anniversary Christmas Book which debuted on October 2
• Literacy One (a product of Scholastic, Boeing and Cathway Pacific) takes flight, carrying 750,000 English language children's books for libraries in over the next three years.
• Room to Read opens library in Nepal: their 5000th library!!!
  

Posted by Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director


Picure of Bruno, Student of the Month from Alagoas, Brazil

Hey all Worldfund supporters, this one goes out to you, a la Luanne Zurlo, Executive Director:

Posted by Abby Rae LaCombe, Rocky Mountain Regional Director

The National Endowment for the Arts released a study on American reading habits recently. The study draws on more than 40 sources, including federal agencies and universities, and examines the reading habits of American children, teens, and adults. The study found that nearly one-half of Americans aged 18-24 read no books for pleasure! It also found that 65% of American college freshman either do not read for pleasure, or read less than one hour each week. That trend improves slightly through college, with 1/3 of American college seniors reading nothing for pleasure during the week.

There is a lot of discussion on the study. Are we reading less or are we reading differently? Some argue that the decline is not actually a decline at all, but a transfer of attention. Rather than reading books and newspapers, teens and young adults are utilizing the internet for their news and entertainment. Hmmm...

Check out: The NEA site to learn more.

The attached picture is ME on Pearl Street in Boulder, CO while I was on my tour of conferences, campuses and bookstores in the Rockies.

Posted by: Jacob Fu, Account Representative

As Walter recently mentioned, the Library Team was in Charleston from November 7-10.  It was my first time in the city and also my first time to the Charleston Conference.  I had a great time enjoying the beautiful weather and it was great meeting everyone there.

One of the things I most enjoy when going to a new city is the food!  During the GALA Reception on Thursday night, we were presented with barbeque, boiled shrimp, steamed shrimp, and a plethora of other goodies.  Although I’m not a big fan of oysters, it was a lot of fun standing around shucking and enjoying everyone’s company.


Another great place we stopped in for brunch was Jestine’s Kitchen.  It was a great local place that had a line waiting to get in before it even opened.  The meatloaf and sweet tea were amazing!


I definitely look forward to going back next year.  Let me know if you have any suggestions on places I need to try.

Posted by Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director

Check out the following press release at the link below for more information on this exciting development!

BETTER WORLD BOOKS BECOMES A FOUNDING B CORPORATION

Online bookseller promotes literacy worldwide while benefiting its partners, employees and the environment

November 6, 2007

Berwyn, PA -- B Lab today announced it has certified online bookseller Better World Books, a leading online seller of new and used books, as a Founding B Corporation™. With the certification, Better World Books joins a growing international network of purpose-driven businesses dedicated to setting a new standard for social and environmental performance, creating benefit for all stakeholders, not just shareholders.

To become certified B Corporations, businesses must meet comprehensive and transparent social and environmental performance standards and amend their corporate governing documents to incorporate the interests of employees, community and the environment.

Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director


I personally am a Google guy.  With the interconnected nature of Firefox/Camino/Safari/Internet Explorer and the famed search engine, there are many people who would likely agree with my decision.  Well if Google is your engine of choice, i have a great site for you, and if it isn't your cup of tea take a minute to consider the following:

Search Kindly

Search Kindly is a site that uses Google to search
(comes up with the exact same results, notice:

search "Better World Books is awesome" on Google
search "Better World Books is awesome" on Search Kindly

see?)

Anyway, the reason you should consider the switch is because Search Kindly donates all of the money they make off of advertising to the programs that users vote on everyday (the organization of choice changes every month).  They are a non-profit "dedicated to the idea of micro-volunteerism and micro-philanthropy i.e. a lot of people doing a little is better than a few people doing a lot."

They're making money and sending it to some great places including Wildlife Direct, Invisible Children and Friends in Deed along with others.

Posted by Sarah Lynne Reul, Senior East Coast Director

Here's some additional photos from Martha Schouten at University of Oran in Algeria. The shipment of books from Books for Africa should be getting there soon - we'll have more pictures then!

Posted by Natasha Harris, West Coast Senior Director

Last weekend Better World Books attended the Green Fest in San Francisco to promote BetterWorld.com.  What an incredible event!  Over the course of three days, we spoke with thousands of people, ran a very successful book drive, and learned a good deal about other green initiatives happening throughout the world.  All in all, the event was a great success, and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly!

Above: Paul Drake, Geoff Schwarten, Silvia Sweidan, Brad Weirich, Natasha Harris, Justin Brandon


Above: Plastic Man

The man above was one of the flashier participants at the Fest.  He single-handedly ran his own awareness campaign about plastic, and came dressed in 700 plastic grocery bags (the amount of bags the average person throws away in a year) in order to effectively demonstrate how much waste our lives contribute to the environment.  Makes you want to buy reusable grocery bags, right?!

Posted by: Dustin Holland, Director


BetterWorld.com is featured in the "Let's All Get Merry!" December/January 2008 Issue of the Hallmark Magazine.  Check out the "Shop for a Cause" section on page 23 to read more.

Posted by Damara Catlett, Northern Mid-Atlantic Regional Director

In the beginning of October one regional director learned that she would have to box approximately 2,000 books by herself. However, to her delight several LaSalle University students came to her rescue!

This is a very special thank you to Bell Tower Books for their donation and to the La Salle Cross Cultural Association for their tremendous work helping to pack these books.

Tons of drama taping.

Posted by Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director



Over at the National Insitute for Literacy (or NIFL, not to be confused with our partner, the NCFL or National Center for Family Literacy), there's a podcast from this past August about the findings of the "2003 Assessment of Adult Health Literacy."  Head over there to see the full results.  They define "health literacy" as:

Health Literacy as the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.  Health Literacy is important for all adults; it is not just important for those who cannot read.  It is also and can be an issue for well-educated adults to know and understand health information needed to make everyday decisions.  Making good decision, health decisions, depends on having a high level of reading and comprehension skills.

As the page suggests, the following were the basic conclusions from the report, but there are much more in depth comments and findings within the report (natch):

Health literacy was reported using four performance levels: Below Basic, Basic, Intermediate, and Proficient. The majority of adults (53 percent) had Intermediate health literacy. About 22 percent had Basic and 14 percent had Below Basic health literacy. Relationships between health literacy and background variables (such as educational attainment, age, race/ethnicity, where adults get information about health issues, and health insurance coverage) were also examined and reported. For example, adults with Below Basic or Basic health literacy were less likely than adults with higher health literacy to get information about health issues from written sources (newspapers, magazines, books, brochures, or the Internet) and more likely than adults with higher health literacy to get a lot of information about health issues from radio and television.