Posted by Geoff Schwarten, BetterWorld.com Brand Manager

We’ve all got them, you know - the list you have with all the things you want to do in your life. For example:

1. Swim with sharks
2. Write a book
3. Learn to break dance

This month we’ve recruited some help for you and your list. Our friends at National Novel Writing Month (NaNo WriMo) have created a grass roots event with over 100,000 people getting together to write novels.

No Plot? No Problem! NaNoWriMo will keep in touch with you throughout November to give the emotional support and coaching to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. A novel concept indeed. Next month we'll work on number 3 on life's to-do list - all $100 dollar orders will get a cardboard head spin mat FREE with purchase.

Posted by Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director

As you may have heard, our warehouse had a small electrical fire today.  Luckily the employees and books are alright, and only spooked on an apropos day for strange occurrences.

Thanks to those who have expressed their concern!

Posted by Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director

Check out the following video, a la www.brightcove.tv.  It's an interview with Better World Books' own Xavier Hegelsen!  The interview was taken at the Green Festival in D.C. which is "a two-day party with a serious purpose: to accelerate the emergence of a new economic paradigm that is life-affirming and life-restoring. Together we are cultivating a culture of sustainability and social equity that honors our interdependence with all life."  Read more about the festival.

Posted by Yanna C. Ogilvie, Midwest Regional Director

Congratulations to the Phi Theta Kappa chapter at Western Iowa Tech Community College for being the first recipient of a Leadership Award in the Midwest Region. Beta Zeta Mu accepted the award on October 4th during the Iowa Phi Theta Kappa Regional conference in Cedar Rapids. I presented them with the award because of their dedication to Better World Books, their ability to have a successful book drive for the last four semesters, and their compassion to spread literacy throughout the United States via the National Center for Family Literacy. Great job Beta Zeta Mu and keep up the amazing work!

Sincerely,
Yanna

Posted by Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director

Using the Better World Books Fund and the help of two families, Books for Africa was able to send two 40' containers to Uganda, containing about 70,000 books.  Books for Africa.  8 computers were also included in the shipment.

Add that all up and it's a pretty simple equation:

  +       +    YOU    =



Changing people's lives.

Posted by Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director

The following is an official release from the NCFL in regards to our visit to the Santa Rosa school this summer:

In August, a team of eight Better World Books staff, along with NCFL Senior Director Emily Kirkpatrick, Development Specialist Andrea Peters, and Training Specialist Kim Jacobs, helped the Santa Rosa Family and Child Education (FACE) program get ready to welcome students for the new school year.

The FACE program, sponsored by the Bureau of Indian Education, offers educational services to American Indians on 39 reservations.  Santa Rosa serves families on the Tohono O'odham Reservation in Arizona. NCFL has provided training and technical assistance to the FACE program since its inception in 1991.Better World Books was already familiar with the FACE program after donating thousands of books to all the sites last year. Many programs used those books for incentives, prizes, gifts, and to build classroom and school libraries.

This summer, Better World Books staff were ready to get their hands dirty—literally. They helped prepare the Santa Rosa dorm for students, mowed and raked, cleaned graffiti off playground equipment, set up computers, and distributed additional donated books. They also had an opportunity to observe the opening days of the program.“In addition to being able to really get to see and understand the FACE program in action and better appreciate NCFL's role in helping to architect the program, we all had the chance to pitch in and help get the Santa Rosa School itself "in shape" for the opening day of school,” said Better World Books CEO David Murphy. “We were humbled by the experience.”

FACE staff were appreciative of everyone’s efforts. “Without the help of this team,” said Sister Val Beuke, the Santa Rosa FACE coordinator, “our room would never have been so perfectly ready for the little ones.”

Read more about the NCFL-Better World Books partnership.

Posted by Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director

The following is the latest update from Luanne Zurlo, Executive Director of the World Education and Development Fund (commonly known as 'Worldfund'):



picture of Nubia of Acapulco, Mexico, Worldfund Student of the Month (October).

Worldfund is pleased to be an invited participant at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), which is currently taking place in New York City, and where I write to you from today!  Worldfund is proposing two projects at the CGI, both Mexico-focused: an intensive training program for public school teachers; and, the opening of five top-quality Mano Amiga schools in impoverished border communities.

As Worldfund's Founder and Executive Director, I was invited by the CGI to participate in these important meetings. President Bill Clinton introduced the CGI in 2005, as a forum for global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges.

Also, we are incredibly grateful to Merrill Lynch for its generous support of Worldfund this fall and since our foundation nearly five years ago. As part of its celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month in September and October, Merrill Lynch organized a Better World Books book drive on behalf of Worldfund at numerous offices throughout the country. Thousands of books were collected and boxes are still arriving, so everyone who participated can be sure that their contributions made a difference! Merrill Lynch also launched its Employee Global Giving Campaign earlier this month and chose Worldfund as the recipient of donations targeted to Latin America. We are thrilled to be a part of the company's first global campaign and hope that employees in Latin America will have the opportunity to see firsthand the transformative impact that our education partners have on children's lives.

Warmest regards,
Luanne Zurlo, Executive Director
Worldfund

Posted by Natasha Harris, West Coast Senior Director

This past weekend was spent in Sacramento with one of my favorite groups of people - the Nevada-California Phi Theta Kappans.  It was a terrific weekend, filled with great speeches, great projects, great enthusiasm ... and even a scavenger hunt through Old Sac.  The highlight of the weekend, for me, was getting to see how the support has continued for the Nev-Cal Regional Service Project, Bridge2Peace. 

Bridge2Peace is a nonprofit organization building a series of free Montessori educational facilities in Sri Lanka. Founded in direct response to the 2004 tsunami, the organization will provide programs designed to educate, empower, and create a brighter future for the children and families of that disaster and for those affected by the country’s devastating civil war.  Currently, Bridge2Peace operates a Montessori school in Lunugamvehera, Sri Lanka.  Since opening its doors in 2005, this school has grown to serve 54 students, and plans to bring in more and more students as resources allow.  Through fundraising efforts (like book drives) and also through supply drives, the Nev-Cal region of Phi Theta Kappa  has played an instrumental role in this school's growth to date.  The region even plan to send a group of students to the Bridge2Peace school this summer to teach!

So much truth lies within Margarat Mead's oft-repeated advice to never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world.  Over the past year that I have been involved with this project, I have seen it to be an absolute truth and am so glad that Better World Books can be a part of these great efforts!  Way to go Phi Theta Kappa!

   
In Photo: Kurt Meyer (IVC), Ed (Palomar), Natasha Harris (Better World Books), Zoie Lewandowski (Palomar), Stacey Larson (Mount San Antonio), Roger Ekins (Butte)

Posted by Abby Rae LaCombe, Rocky Mountain Regional Director

Hey all!  So, my Rocky Mountain expedition is nearly at a close (More adventures from New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado to come later) and I’ve picked up a couple of tips that I wanted to share:

Weber State University in Utah suggests using printable nametags to fill in the Who, What, When, section of your posters.  You can buy these at most any store that sells office supplies (and if you save the receipt your RD can make sure you are reimbursed).  They cut down on the time it takes to prep your posters and give them a professional look.

If you have a problem with folks tossing trash in your bins, UC-Denver and Metro State College recommend placing your collection bins next to garbage receptacles.  They’ve also found that taping the book slot down to the size of a large text book has helped to reduce the amount of garbage collected.

More to come soon and in the meantime, good luck with midterms, finals, and holiday travels!

Abby doing her best Ansel Adams in Utah

Posted by Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director

This past Saturday, Dustin Holland of the library division, along with Sarah Lynne Reul (East Coast Senior Director) and myself went to the Union Congregation Church in Allston, MA to help Prison Book Program with a community drive.  Hailed as the "largest drive in Boston" this program saw 20,000 books from churches and households all around the Metro-Boston area.

Better World Books was there with the Prison Book Program deciding which books would be sold for funding or which would go directly to the prisoners, and after a grueling 10-7pm nonstop sorting and packing session we actually had to shut the doors of the church to make sure no one else showed up!

Thank you to UCC, PBP and all the volunteers who showed up for a great experience.  It's not often enough that we actually get to go out there and get our hands dirty, and the opportunity was a great one.  Below are some photos, courtesy of the Boston Globe, Sunday edition (City & Region 10.21.07).

posted by Niko Tomlinson, Senior Director, Central West Region



Last week- October 17th-19th, held in the Wisconsin Dells- marked the 3rd straight Wisconsin Association of College Stores (WACS) show Better World Books has attended, (and more specifically me).  The WACS group is such a great example of the support and friendship the regional college store associations offer to the independent college stores representing colleges and universities of all sizes.  From national conferences like the NACS Innovate Conference this past summer, the pace at which the college store's core business model is changing is incredible- from the technology of educational materials to the leaps and bounds in entertainment supplies college stores offer to the types of customers/students who are their main constituents. 

The WACS group has always proven itself to be an inspired, concerted group and their annual meeting last week was no exception.  With almost 75% of all the attending bookstores participating in Better World Books drives, the comments I received about the feedback they get from their students, faculty, and coworkers were incredible.  What really surprised me were the unique ways in which stores were using the book drive to great promotional means for their store:

-Posting letters of thanks and support from our literacy partners above the collection box to show students how much their books mean.
-Providing semesterly reports to administration of #s of lbs of books collected.
-Using Better World Books posters as marketing for their buyback.
-Sending out notices to faculty to let them know they are a resource for unwanted books- this was big because it was stressed how this helped open up communication with faculty.

I am continually impressed with this group and always enjoy my time with them- new ideas, intersting discussions and debates, and generally just shooting the breeze- a great time and a partnership I look forward to continuing to strengthen and develop!

Posted by Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director

Follow the link below [read more] to read the transcript of a podcast by Sharon Darling, the President of the National Center for Family Literacy. This podcast was originally broadcast on October 11, 2007 from 1:50pm - 2:15pm on the NCFL website.

Posted by Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director

Al Vos, a teacher at The State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton, has been chosen to receive the "Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service"



The website suggests:

This award recognizes individuals whose long history of service to the campus, State University, local community or professional societies/organizations sets them apart as well as those who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership in local or system-wide faculty governance.

You can read the full description of his excellent works, but you'll notice that one reason he is receiving this award is of particular interest:

[Al] works with the Center for Learning and Teaching and the Institute for Student-Centered Learning. Vos, campus organizer and coordinator of the Books for Africa campaign, also contributes time and expertise to other community initiatives.


Congratulations, Al, you've always been a committed and excellent representative of Better World Books and Books for Africa, and this award is well deserved!

Posted by Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director

Here's a photo of our team at work getting the hundreds of student group payments together for mailing.

Thanks, warehouse, for all the hard work in getting these out!

Posted by Laurie Lawson, Southwest Regional Director

Texas Phi Theta Kappa members proved, once again, that everything is bigger in Texas! Last weekend's Leadership Conference set record attendance with an enthusiastic crowd of 312 in Waco, Texas. It was the perfect opportunity to share some good news with the chapter from Collin County Community College-Plano. Alpha Mu Tau was chosen as the Better World Books Spring 2007 Outstanding Group from the Southwest Region. The leadership of Frank Pallone and Laura Perdomo (pictured below) was an example of true synergy. Alpha Mu Tau is a chapter that's always ready to go above and beyond--a true pleasure to work with.

A big thank you to the hosting chapter from Texas State Technical College-Waco for their hospitality at the conference. They did a fabulous job taking care of everyone's needs. I enjoyed reconnecting with everyone--it has been awhile since the International Conference in Nashville! See you again in March for the Texas Regional!

Posted by Roselle Agner, Mid-South Regional Director


The following is a guest blog from Meredith Broadhead at the University of Memphis with the SIFE organization:

Posted by Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director

An email and photos from Pat Plonski, at Books for Africa:

Many, many, many of these books are from Better World Books... The university [St. John's University, Dodoma, Tanzania] staff were extremely pleased with the books according to our BFA staff, and indicated great appreciation to the donors.  Apparently, the university was running the risk of being closed down by the government due to a lack of a proper library, so these books were critical to education and allowing the university to stay open.

Thanks.

Best regards,

--Pat

Patrick Plonski
Executive Director
Books For Africa

Posted by Abby Rae LaCombe, Rocky Mountain Regional Director

My adventure began in Greeley, CO at the Phi Theta Kappa Colorado Region Conference.  Beforehand, Ron Fay, Phi Theta Kappa advisor at Aims Community College, and coordinator of the most successful Phi Theta Kappa drive in the Rocky Mountain Region (81 cartons this spring!) gave me a great tour of the campus.

The conference was great fun and inspired many new Phi Theta Kappa groups to get involved with Better World Books.  After talking to each other and hearing of how successful the Phi Theta Kappas at Pikes Peaks Community College (35 cartons!), Arapahoe Community College (37 cartons!), and Colorado Mountain College-Alpine (32 cartons!) and others were this year.  Thank you all for the opportunity to attend.

The trip to Colorado gave me the opportunity to visit many other great schools as well.

CU-Boulder had an amazing book drive this spring, coordinated by Alternative Breaks.  Brie, the drive coordinator, has handled the book drive for 3 semesters and brought in 105 cartons this spring promoting solely with e-mails and using only two collection bins!  This spring we are planning to get another student group involved and double the number of promotion methods and collection bins – Go Buffaloes!  Let’s see 210 cartons for literacy!

Golden Key and Mortar Board are planning to take the reins of a drive at CSU-Ft. Collins.  Not to play off of an old rivalry, but I think CSU could compete well with CU-Boulder’s spring book drive -- they have an incredibly motivated group of coordinators and I’m excited to see how successful this drive can become.  

I was also able to visit Front Range Community College–Larimer, where the Office of Student Life will begin coordinating numerous student groups on campus for a successful drive.  These groups will be responsible for varied aspects of the book drive and each will have the opportunity to table in the Student Center.  This should be a great way for the student groups to increase membership while supporting literacy!

Thank you, everyone, for the opportunity to visit!  I’ve had an awesome time meeting everyone and becoming more familiar with your campuses and experiencing the beauty of Colorado!

Posted by Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director

Hey all, just got the latest news from Books for Africa via their Fall Newsletter and it's very exciting!

First of all, BFA has shipped 17.5 million primary, secondary, post-secondary and library books to 35 (that's right, 35!) countries since 1988.  This year alone they sent 119 containers to 22 different countries from Angola to Kenya to Zimbabwe and more.

In addition, to all of you Books For Africa supporters out there, go to www.betterworld.com/bfa when you want to buy books and click on the BFA logo, this will ensure that the proceeds put towards a literacy partner of any book that you purchase will go to Books for Africa!

Also, Books for Africa's Donor Appreciation Day will be on Sasturday, November 17th from 3:30 - 6:30 at 715 East Minnehaha Ave, St. Paul, MN 55106.  Music, refreshments and light hors d'oeuvres will be provided along with a warehouse open house to "see what all the excitement is about!"  Volunteers, donors and friends are all invited!

Posted by: Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director

Hey all, just got an email that the American Council on Africa (ACA) will be having their 2nd annual Yambo-Yambo Peace Gala on November 8th, 2007 in Harlem (northern tip of Manhattan, NYC for those who don't know).  Info below:

The Gala will include an array of traditional African cuisine and live music as well as an esteemed keynote speaker. We invite you to join us at this very exciting time to continue to promote the African tradition of peacemaking. You are welcome to join us in person, sponsor a guest, or send a check to support this wonderful cause.. The future of our work is dependent upon your financial support.

We accept checks made payable to the American Council on Africa , P.O. Box 386 , New York , NY 10150-0386 , credit card donations, or paypal donations through our website, www.americancouncilonafrica.org.

Posted By: Damara Catlett, Northern Mid-Atlantic Regional Director

Last week, I attended the World Cultures Fair at La Salle University in Philadelphia during which I was thoroughly impressed by the student coordinators commitment to sharing global perspectives and culture through food, dance and service.

One of the exhibits was a Books for Africa table at which we signed up volunteers and shared information about the success of the project.

The Cross Cultural Association headed by Elizabeth Moreno, Victor Decouto, and Chiara de Leon have run wildly successful book drives on behalf of Books for Africa for the past three semesters. Last year they collected a total of 2,908 books, raised $1,742 for student scholarships, saved 746 books from ending up in landfills and sent 329 books directly to Books for Africa.

Thank you so much for all your great work!

                 

Posted by: Paul Drake, Account Development Manager

First Book and Better World Books teamed up for a community book drive in our nation’s capital from September 8^th (International Literacy Day) through the 23rd.  First Book has distributed over 50,000,000 new books to children from low-income families in the United States.

Partnering with the Washington DC VFW, the Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church, and SunTrust Mortgage Bank, we collected over 15,000 books!  Proceeds from the sale of those books will help First Book get books into the hands of children.

Our team (pictured) went through all of the books in just 3 days.  It was a lot of fun meeting our new partners and getting out of the office to sort some books!

You can still help support First Book by donating your books to generate funding for them.

Posted by Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director

Join the most creative and progressive leaders working to integrate families, communities and education at the 17th Annual National Conference on Family Literacy: "Literacy Grows Families and Communities."

The event, a signature activity of the National Center for Family Literacy, is the largest and most comprehensive conference for educators, community leaders, philanthropists and government officials dedicated to family literacy.

Session topics will highlight innovative approaches to helping families achieve their goals through literacy. Speakers will include Loriene Roy, American Library Association; David W. Murphy, Better World Books; Dorothy Kauffman, Center for Applied Linguistics; Peter DeBenedittis, author and consultant; Karen L. Mapp, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Faith Rogow, Insighters Educational Consulting; Christopher J. Lonigan, Florida State University; and Cristina Jose-Kampfner, Latino Health Access.

The Conference will be held March 29 –31, 2008, in Louisville, Kentucky.

Online registration is available now! Brochures will be mailed in October. Visit www.famlit.org/conference for details.

Posted by: David Murphy, President and CEO

I am excited to share with you some news regarding Better World Books' support of "Green for All".   See this from Brad Weirich, Employee Development Manager, who will be involved with this effort going forward (representing Better World Books):

Green for All, a new campaign focused on bringing "green collar" jobs to urban areas, launched on Friday, September 26th, at the Clinton Global Initiative.  The group, created by Van Jones, Co-Founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, seeks to capitalize on the exploding green economy while ensuring that the coming green economic wave impacts on more than one level.

The Green for All campaign is a bold effort to harness the growing power of the green economic revolution to fight the war on poverty.  By securing job training for 250,000 workers from urban communities for the emerging green job market, the program will provide new avenues of opportunity for those who have traditionally been left behind by the nation's economic growth.

Green for All was launched with the support of over 200 businesses and organizations, including Better World Books.

If you would like to see the full press release, please go here

Posted by: Sarah Lynne Reul, Senior East Coast Director

Here’s a letter from Pat Plonski, the Executive Director of Books for Africa, with an email message from a recent recipient of a container of 35,000 books, which left the Books for Africa warehouse in July:

   
Hey guys!  Just got this message from Guinea where a Better World Books Fund-sponsored container just landed.  As you see, they are very happy!   This e-mail speaks for itself.   The Better World Books Fund paid the full cost of this container ($9,000), so all of the credit is yours!  Thanks.

--Pat

Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007
Subject: THANK YOU!

Hhhhhhuuuuuuurrrrrraaaaayyyyyyy! shouted the teachers as the container reaches Sabu campus. Yesterday was a sigh of relief with great excitement to see the accomplishment of this historic project.  You must feel very proud that your goal has been achieved. We thank you for creating such an environment that will touch the growth of many lives.
 
You will receive letters and pictures from all the schools that will benefit from this resources.
   
We thank you for being a family we can always count on. We have been and will continue to works towards our commitment of educating the children.
 
Thank you all.
 
Samuel Thoronka
Sabu International School
Conakry, Guinea

Posted by: Dustin Holland, Director


Prison Book Program, a literacy partner of Better World Books, is organizing a city-wide book drive on Saturday October 20th.  Our goal is to collect at least 10,000 books.  Your book donations will be sent to prisoners around the country, sold at the City Mission used-book store, or distributed by Better World Books for the benefit of national and international literacy charities around the world. This is a great chance to clear out that bookshelf and ensure that your books go to good use.

If you live in the Boston area, please bring your unwanted book donations to benefit Prison Book Program, City Mission Society and other local non-profits. Hardcovers, paperbacks, used and new, fiction and non fiction.

WHEN:  Saturday October 20, 2007, 10am to 4pm   
WHERE:   Brighton Allston Congregational Church UCC   
404 Washington Street
Brighton , MA 02135

Full details are available at:  http://www.prisonbookprogram.org/bookdrive.htm
For more information, please email: info@prisonbookprogram.org or call 617-423-3298