Books For Africa 25th Anniversary Events in Washington, D.C., and New York City

May and June have been busy months for BFA in this our 25th Anniversary year. We hosted our first ever Harvard Club Breakfast for high level donors in the New York City area; the event was held in conjunction with Book Expo America and the United Nations.

While there, BFA Executive Director, Patrick Plonski, and Board secretary, Tammie Follett, presented our friends from Out of Print Clothing with the 2013 Books For Africa Award of Merit. Out of Print Clothing does more than make really hip shirts of the covers of our favorite books. They are one of the largest donors to Books For Africa! For every shirt they sell, they send one book to Africa. With their growing popularity, they have certainly sent a lot of books. Congratulations to Out Of Print!

After the Book Expo and Breakfast BFA headed to Washington, D.C., for our Annual Summit Society Meeting and Reception. This year, His Excellency Elkanah Odembo, Ambassador of the Republic of Kenya to the United States and honorary chair of the 2013 BFA Summit Society, hosted the event at the Kenyan Embassy. Books For Africa supporters from around the country joined together to discuss the great work of BFA.

We were pleased that representatives of our 25th Anniversary Platinum Sponsor, Thomson Reuters, were able to join us. Sharon Sayles Belton, Vice President of Government Affairs and Community Relations, spoke at the event about the partnerships with BFA in sending law and human rights libraries across Africa. In addition, a Thomson Reuters- funded container to be shipped to Kenya was announced. Thank you Thomson Reuters!

While in Washington, BFA representatives, including Ethiopian board member, Asratie Teferra, met with the Ethiopian Ambassador to discuss the future of books in Ethiopia. BFA shipped 20 containers of books to Ethiopian students last year, but many more are needed. This meeting confirmed that BFA will be an important part of improving Ethiopian education