Fundraiser for Children’s Book Bank
~ Saturday, April 24, 2010 ~
How I got involved
I volunteered to do an evening of book cleaning for the Children’s Book Bank in February. My friends Emily and Shannon had the event listed as a place to do service for their organization Return Serve. (returnserve@gmail.com)
I really enjoyed the evening, and I liked what I saw which is an organization that puts their money into what they do and not in a fancy office and a lot of staff. I asked Tom Myers about having a similar event for my 6 ½ year old granddaughter Eva, and some of her friends. My daughter Julie Rae and I had both been trying to find service projects that Eva could join in, and I thought this would be a good choice.
I was told that all of their cleaning sessions were booked at the time, but if I could collect 300 - 500 books, we could make our own group. So I committed to doing a fundraiser for an organization I knew nothing about 6 months ago. It seemed like the right thing to do because books were very important to me growing up, and I liked the idea of doing something that would get books to kids who might not otherwise have access to them.
I put together a flyer and sent most invites by email....less expensive than mailing and quicker. I did send out a few invitations by snail mail to people I could not reach through email.
I held the event in my home. I limited it to people I knew and their friends. I wanted the event to be small enough that people could interact. There was time for refreshments and connecting with people the first hour or so.
Then we sat in a talking circle so everyone could see each other. People talked about books that were important to them, which prompted some discussion in the group. It was especially fun to hear the little kids tell us about their favorite books.
The fundraiser was a huge success. And it was a great party that included all ages. People donated 365 books and over $500. So I urge others to consider doing something similar for this organization or an organization you feel connected to.
To learn more about the Children’s Book Bank, visit www.childrensbookbank.org
Eva's Book Cleaning
On Saturday, May 22, my granddaughter and some of her friends and their moms participated in a book cleaning session at the Children's Book Bank.
