Further Light and Knowledge

I'm helping to start a charity with some do-gooder writing friends called Fill the Shelves where librarians of needy public schools post Amazon wish lists and donors buy a book or three that gets shipped directly to the school library in question. We got this idea a couple of weeks ago when a friend of mine posted a picture of the empty book shelves of her children's school library. A bunch of people passed it along, including a retweet by Neil Gaiman, and the library's Amazon wish list emptied out within a couple of hours.

We only launched our larger project yesterday and have already sent more than $1,200 dollars worth of books on their way to our initial batch of libraries. We need a few things to keep this rolling. First, more needy school libraries, so if you know of any contacts or disadvantaged schools, please forward their contact information to our web site email at contactfilltheshelves@gmail.com. It is super easy for librarians to set up a wish list and start to receive books.

Second, the farther this link and message spreads the better. Any tweeting, sharing, etc., is greatly appreciated. Finally, if you have a few extra bucks, consider browsing the wish lists of our first batch of libraries and making a small purchase.

http://filltheshelves.org/

Thanks!

KingM

This is cool! I'll look into it and see what I can do.

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The apple cannot be stuck back on the Tree of Knowledge; once we begin to see, we are doomed and challenged to seek the strength to see more, not less. ~ Arthur Miller

Thank you. We've reached the end of the first day with over $2,000 worth of books winging off to very needy schools. One school has over 131 new books coming to it. We're just a handful of writers without any huge reach, so realistically, it's hard to tell if this will amount to anything in the long run, but it has been super fun so far. An even better feeling than being a full tithe payer!

Awesome idea, I totally love it. I'm in!

I like. I'd love to participate. I'm getting ready to start in a literacy program at our local library helping young ones learn to read. Fun ones like Dr. Seuss and some of the children's classics. I can't wait!

I agree, this is a great idea.

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- CV Rick
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We filled one of the two wish lists and are almost there with the other two. $3,400 worth of books sent so far and some more schools on the way. The only problem is I don't think we have the reach yet to really nail this, so we're kind of thinking spend most of October getting new libraries, finishing off the last two wish lists, and then trying to push it again at the first of November, maybe get it just a little bit bigger each time.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who helped. It feels great to finally do something about something, rather than stand at a distance and bitch about it, which is my standard operating procedure.

We can still do it right? (Payday for me isn't till Thursday. )

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The apple cannot be stuck back on the Tree of Knowledge; once we begin to see, we are doomed and challenged to seek the strength to see more, not less. ~ Arthur Miller

Yes, of course. Make sure you look after your own needs first, though, a lifetime of tithing messages aside.

We've got a new school up and more on the way. Of the initial batch of four, only one still has books, and we're down to the last ten books in the wish list before we chalk that one up to a success.

I just got notified that a shipment went, but when you get more schools up -- or in a couple of weeks from now, whichever comes first -- post again and I'll go do more. It's fun to browse through the lists and pick books, but cos I'm a book junkie, it's not a quick thing to do...I'll have to pace myself...

We've got some new schools up if anyone wants to buy a book or two. Head shaking when you look at a picture like this one and imagine those nearly bare shelves trying to feed the reading hunger of 1,400 kids.

King M, Please, please keep this up on this page. We currently don't have the money to contribute, but nearer to Christmas we sell some of my husband's sick leave every year and I would love to be able to buy a few books at that time.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to do this!

Good job! I certainly will add this to my charitable list monthly so PLEASE keep this at the forefront. Myself and my husband are avid readers and have tons of great books (although no kid books 'cause the dogs and cats can't read and I have no kid relatives or friends). What about donated books? I go to estate sales all the time and there are so many books and many are in mint condition. Where could we send these? You may have already said in a post but I didn't see it and we would love to help. Books are the key to learning, imagining, creating writers, etc. Practically everything I know about all my hobbies I have learned thru books since I am very isolated and don't get out much (only if someone drives me, actually). Now, who is going to do this same thing for food banks so the kids will have enough energy to read? Any volunteers?