Hey Everyone! In May, CLF launched their Champions of Change initiative by providing a step-by-step guide on how to run a book drive.
A book drive is a great way for you and your community to get involved in service.
When I first started book drives in 7th grade, I didn’t realize the weight a book. Not in pounds, pages, or letters, but in the impact of as story. Book collections and donations not only help improve literacy rates, but help improve quality of life. Growing up, a book was a portal off of my couch and into the world. Books don’t just catalogue information, they create a memory for you to store.
As Thanksgiving approaches, we remember the most basic needs: food, water, and shelter. Sadly, people around the world don’t have their basic needs met. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs one must first have physiological comfort before they can get to the expanding knowledge that books give.
Now is the time to trade books for food and collect cans and nonperishable food items instead of books. All of the tools included in our guide can still be used for your drive. All you have to do is change the word ‘books’ to ‘food’.
Thanksgiving also marks the winter chills. The weather is getting colder and many children do not have winter coats to fulfill their basic needs. Winter coats are very expensive and children grow out their previous coats each year. This can be very costly to families. Try running a coat drive to help keep your community warm as the winter months approach. Collect new or gently used coats to give to those in need. Again, use the guide and change ‘books’ to ‘coats’.
There are so many other things you could collect! I’d love to hear your thoughts and see even more of you running a drive to benefit your community.
