Yesterday was Thanksgiving in the United States, a holiday that reminds us to express gratitude for what we have and reach out to those who have less. In this spirit of giving, we cannot think of a better time to announce Barefoot Books' partnership with Books For Africa, a truly inspiring organization whose mission is to bring the enduring gift of literacy, education and hope to underprivileged children and their communities in Africa.
Books For Africa is the largest shipper of donated books to the African continent. Since 1988, they have sent over 20 million books to 44 African countries and into the hands of rural schoolchildren. Many of these children are taught in primitive schoolrooms without running water, electricity or the basic materials and tools needed to learn. By collecting, sorting and shipping books to these communities, Books For Africa provides these children with the fundamental tools they need to learn, grow and improve their individual lives and the world around them. To learn more, we encourage you to visit the Books For Africa web site and watch this inspiring video on their mission.
Before we go into the details of this partnership, we felt it was important to share the story of how it came to be. This story speaks volumes about the power of human connection, because our relationship with Books For Africa stemmed from a chance encounter between one of our very own Stallholders and a Books For Africa employee. Tara Morrison, a Stallholder in Minnesota, was selling Barefoot at an outdoor event this summer when she struck up a conversation with a woman who walked into her booth. This woman turned out to be Linda Mah oney, the Director of International Relations for Books For Africa. Tara, who has a life-long passion for Africa's culture and people, already knew of Linda's organization and was happy to gather more information about it and share the story of Barefoot Books. Sensing the connection between the two, Linda made sure to pass along her business card before purchasing some books for her granddaughter. Afterwards, the mission of Books For Africa stayed with Tara and she continued to reflect on the similarities between the two organizations. Eventually, she called Linda to meet for coffee, and as Tara told us, "The more we talked, the more we could both envision what an amazing partnership this could be." So Tara put Linda in touch with our staff here at the US office, and we too quickly realized what a perfect fit this would be for both organizations - and the rest is history!
From a chance encounter evolving into a conversation over coffee and eventually into the exciting partnership we are announcing today, we thank Tara for illustrating so beautifully how simple human connections can grow and develop into something larger and more rewarding than we could have imagined. We couldn't be more excited about launching this meaningful partnership with Books For Africa. They are truly an organization that speaks to the core of what Barefoot Books is about - spreading literacy, art and cultural understanding throughout the world, and extending a helping hand to children less fortunate than our own.
We have committed to this partnership through at least the end of 2009, and this week we are implementing a number of ways to supplement the work of Books For Africa. Without further ado, read below to hear how Barefoot will be working with Books for Africa to support their existing efforts and bring the colorful art and story in ou r books to children half-way around the world!
Books For Africa Donations on the Barefoot Books Website (US only) This Wednesday we are launching a new Books for Africa page on our US website that will allow customers to donate a selection of African-themed books to Books For Africa by "purchasing" them at well below retail value. These donated books, available for either $5 or $3, will be set aside at our warehouse in Wisconsin and picked up in bulk by Books For Africa for shipment to the African continent.
For $5, customers can donate these hardcover titles: We All Went on Safari, Mama Panya's Pancakes, We're Sailing Down the Nile, Hidden Hippo
For $3, customers can donate these board book titles: How Loud is a Lion, Zoe and her Zebra
Books For Africa Bookmarks
For the second component of this partnership, we will be offering beautiful We all Went on Safari-themed bookmarks for sale. The proceeds from the sale of these bookmarks - which read "Your purchase supports Books for Africa" on the back - will be donated to Books for Africa to offset the cost of shipping books to the continent. The bookmarks will be shrink-wrapped in packs of 20.
This special offer below will extend from late-Wednesday, 26 November through 11:59pm PCT/23:59 GMT on Sunday, 30 November (3:00 am EST on Monday, 1 December). Spend $50 and get a free copy of We All Went on Safari.
Books For Africa is the largest shipper of donated books to the African continent. Since 1988, they have sent over 20 million books to 44 African countries and into the hands of rural schoolchildren. Many of these children are taught in primitive schoolrooms without running water, electricity or the basic materials and tools needed to learn. By collecting, sorting and shipping books to these communities, Books For Africa provides these children with the fundamental tools they need to learn, grow and improve their individual lives and the world around them. To learn more, we encourage you to visit the Books For Africa web site and watch this inspiring video on their mission.
Before we go into the details of this partnership, we felt it was important to share the story of how it came to be. This story speaks volumes about the power of human connection, because our relationship with Books For Africa stemmed from a chance encounter between one of our very own Stallholders and a Books For Africa employee. Tara Morrison, a Stallholder in Minnesota, was selling Barefoot at an outdoor event this summer when she struck up a conversation with a woman who walked into her booth. This woman turned out to be Linda Mah oney, the Director of International Relations for Books For Africa. Tara, who has a life-long passion for Africa's culture and people, already knew of Linda's organization and was happy to gather more information about it and share the story of Barefoot Books. Sensing the connection between the two, Linda made sure to pass along her business card before purchasing some books for her granddaughter. Afterwards, the mission of Books For Africa stayed with Tara and she continued to reflect on the similarities between the two organizations. Eventually, she called Linda to meet for coffee, and as Tara told us, "The more we talked, the more we could both envision what an amazing partnership this could be." So Tara put Linda in touch with our staff here at the US office, and we too quickly realized what a perfect fit this would be for both organizations - and the rest is history!
From a chance encounter evolving into a conversation over coffee and eventually into the exciting partnership we are announcing today, we thank Tara for illustrating so beautifully how simple human connections can grow and develop into something larger and more rewarding than we could have imagined. We couldn't be more excited about launching this meaningful partnership with Books For Africa. They are truly an organization that speaks to the core of what Barefoot Books is about - spreading literacy, art and cultural understanding throughout the world, and extending a helping hand to children less fortunate than our own.
We have committed to this partnership through at least the end of 2009, and this week we are implementing a number of ways to supplement the work of Books For Africa. Without further ado, read below to hear how Barefoot will be working with Books for Africa to support their existing efforts and bring the colorful art and story in ou r books to children half-way around the world!
Books For Africa Donations on the Barefoot Books Website (US only) This Wednesday we are launching a new Books for Africa page on our US website that will allow customers to donate a selection of African-themed books to Books For Africa by "purchasing" them at well below retail value. These donated books, available for either $5 or $3, will be set aside at our warehouse in Wisconsin and picked up in bulk by Books For Africa for shipment to the African continent.
For $5, customers can donate these hardcover titles: We All Went on Safari, Mama Panya's Pancakes, We're Sailing Down the Nile, Hidden Hippo
For $3, customers can donate these board book titles: How Loud is a Lion, Zoe and her Zebra
Books For Africa Bookmarks
For the second component of this partnership, we will be offering beautiful We all Went on Safari-themed bookmarks for sale. The proceeds from the sale of these bookmarks - which read "Your purchase supports Books for Africa" on the back - will be donated to Books for Africa to offset the cost of shipping books to the continent. The bookmarks will be shrink-wrapped in packs of 20.
This special offer below will extend from late-Wednesday, 26 November through 11:59pm PCT/23:59 GMT on Sunday, 30 November (3:00 am EST on Monday, 1 December). Spend $50 and get a free copy of We All Went on Safari.
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