Fundraising for Friends

Start the new year by helping our friends in Africa!

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January is the month when the Books to Africa club kicks into fundraising high gear. This is our 3rd year of raising funds to use for postage to send boxes of books to four schools in Ghana, Lesotho, and South Africa. Last year we earned $1665.00 and our goal is to raise $1700.00 this year.  Every penny…every dollar…we raise is important and will go to help some very needy children. There are four ways you can help!

 

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At the Multicultural Night we will be selling “stamps” at our Books to Africa booth. Every person who donates will have their name written on a stamp which will be displayed on our Books to Africa bulletin board near the library. We hope you will stop by our booth, see photos of the children we are helping and buy a stamp.

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We are also hosting a Friday Fun Night on January 30th from 7-9pm at NW Aerials. The cost is $15.00 per child and the proceeds from this fundraiser will also benefit the Books to Africa program. A purple flyer went home last week with the permission form. We had 60 children participate last year. Who knew jumping in a foam block pit could help raise money for reading?

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Just in time for Valentine’s Day, we will sell Lollygrams again! For $1.00 students and staff will get a 2″ swirl heart shaped lollypop and a Valentine’s card to be delivered to anyone they choose (at school). It’s a sweet way to support our program and help those in need.

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If you still want to help, but can’t make it to any events, you can always donate at school in our Books to Africa box in the library. Hopefully we will have enough money to send 20 boxes of books overseas. That will be about 1700 books we will be able to send.

If you would like to read more about the Books to Africa club, you are welcome to read older posts here, here, here, and here. The tab at the top of the page, also has a link to our older pages that has lots of information and photos.

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On behalf of our Books to Africa club and our friends in Africa, we thank you for your support! It takes a village to make a difference in a child’s life.

 

Every child deserves a book!

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6 thoughts on “Fundraising for Friends

  1. You do a fantastic job with your Books for Africa project, I hope that it is really well supported and you reach your target! Good luck!
    Mrs Monaghan

  2. Dear Mrs Hembree,

    Happy New Year to you. Wow what a wonderful way to start of the New Year by helping others.

    This is such a wonderful way to reach other children who may never get the chance to read or hold a book. Well done Mrs Hembree this post brings a huge smile to my face.

    I hope it goes well for you.

    From your pal down under,
    AA

    • Happy New Year AA,
      I hope you are enjoying your summer down under! It’s really rewarding for all of us to learn from and work with our partners in Africa. If we can help with reading supplies, it’s all worth it!
      We are almost to our fundraising goal, so I am really happy! Now to box all those books and send them off!
      Hello to your family!
      Your northern friend,
      Mrs. Hembree

  3. This is a wonderful event and I love how these students were able to come together to donate towards a much bigger cause for literacy! This book club has cultivated generosity within your school, something that cannot be taught in a standard classroom experience. This is something that is much greater and a quality that will prepare these students for their futures. It’s incredible how a group of students is able to come together to raise thirteen hundred dollars and ultimately send 14 boxes of books to partnering schools across the world. The opportunity to contribute to the worldwide literacy initiative and present the students at your school with a cultural learning experience is an incredible way to provide for those in need. I would love to think about how this could be made into a larger initiative within the county or within counties, allowing additional donations to be made to in-need communities within the United States and across the world. I would love to hear any thoughts on ways to expand this initiative!

    • Dear Madison,
      Thank you for your thoughtful comment! The energy in the library on our Books to Africa Club mornings is full of hope. Kids are great at helping other students when they have an opportunity to do so. It’s always been my hope that by starting in elementary school, these students will continue to help others as they grow and become adults. A little kindergarten girl came up to me Friday and handed me a baggy with coins from her piggy bank. She was so proud that she could help!
      Our program has some partners in other parts of the country, but it is admittedly small and I am okay with that. Our program has never been about helping as many as possible, but rather significantly helping a few schools and getting to know them as partners in learning. Anyone can start something similar and help those in need both locally or abroad. I know we donate books locally that we can’t send overseas.
      If you ever want to continue this conversation further, please let me know.
      Julie Hembree

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