Students collect a wide variety of books throughout their educational journey, but what happens to these books after you’ve turned the last page? Sadly, most of them are packed into storage, no longer perused by the curious eyes of a young reader. Aside from taking up valuable household space, these books are serving no purpose in a box. We want to give purpose to these forgotten literatures, donating them to areas where books are not plentiful and may be absent altogether. We also want to recycle damaged pieces to produce the books of the future.
Our efforts begin on Long Island where we both collect and donate books. Here’s our simple philosophy: no book cannot have a purpose. With that in mind, we accept any book, no matter the genre, reading level, or condition. Books in donatable condition find new homes here on Long Island and around the globe, while books that are damaged are properly recycled. We hope to empower children with the resources they need to succeed.
We also striving to build a community here on Long Island through the altruistic efforts of Middle and High School students. Most of our book drives are held in school districts on Long Island, completely organized by young students leaders. We emphasize this project as a completely student-run initiative that builds these organizers’ leadership skills one book at a time.
Continue reading below to find out the details about our initiative and how you can be a part.
COLLECTION: Building leaders, one book at a time
Our initiative works with local school districts in Suffolk County NY. Our goal is to donate as many books as we can to areas on Lo
ng Island and abroad, while simultaneously working with High and Middle School students to develop their leadership skills. We accept books of any genre, and reading level, and any condition, from early readers to literary classics. We appreciate all donations and encourage those who have unused materials to contribute to their local book drive.
This all starts with the student organizers in each school district. These students are either in an honor society or interact club, a separate student group, or organized independently into a group by a faculty member. In developing these student’s leadership and community involvement skills, we are working with them to manage the book drive in their school. We want to emphasize this as a student-run initiative to help develop their leadership skills, promote a sense of community, and bridge the gap between pre-collegiate and collegiate involvement.
Book Drives are also conducted on the Stony Brook University Campus. Faculty, Staff, and Students are encouraged to donate unused literature to collection bins located throughout the campus.
CENTRALIZATION
Efforts from Middle and High School Drives are combined with efforts on the Stony Brook Campus. All collected materials are sorted through and separated by a variety of conditions, including condition, reading level, and genre. Books in good condition will be donated locally and abroad and those that are in poor condition will be properly recycled.
DONATION
With a quarter of a million students in Suffolk County alone, there are still areas where books are absent. We want to send these books anywhere they are needed to empower young children with the resources the need to succeed. In mid-May 2015, our first donation of 2,235 books were donated to the Wyandanch School District .
Books that are not in good condition are properly recycled to give rise to a new generation of literature. Every book has its purpose, whether in the hands of a young reader or recycled to form the books of the future.
