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SeverusSnek2020 t1_j2xnq68 wrote

I may know what to do with all my kids old books. They are both teens now and don’t need child books.

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existdetective t1_j2yrjpf wrote

I mean, this could be fun & all but does it actually get at literacy needs? There are tons of children in need of books who don’t have access to them easily. You could donate books specifically in your community to an organization that stands the best chance of getting them into the hands of kids.

My kid’s elementary school would collect books annually (for all ages) then send boxes & boxes of them out to our very remote communities (Alaska) where there are no public libraries & schools have 25-50 total K-12 students (so even schools aren’t well stocked).

One community put all the incoming books into a “little free library” in the small heated & electrified building at their airstrip (calling it an airport would be wildly exaggerated). The building was open for once daily flights so there were always chances to get your books.

Another community put theirs at their laundromat building (no running water to homes so everyone went there to fill drinking water jugs, wash clothes, & take showers).

In a larger town, are there little free libraries where foster kids have visits with parents? At the unsheltered youth center? At the local DV shelter? What about at your local low-income health center or Head Start? Or even little free libraries at playgrounds & bus stops?

For awhile I would collect books from our transfer stations (eg thrown out with the trash) & sort & distribute them in this way. Don’t just dump a bunch of old textbooks on a nonprofit!

If you don’t know where to donate books, contact your local literacy council. They often have a lead on who in the community could benefit, often have their own free books, &/or may run the only remaining used book store in your town where kids’ books are 50 cents.

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