Books For Africa and Little Free Library Form Partnership to Ship “Little Libraries” to Africa
Books For Africa and Little Free Library Form Partnership to Ship “Little Libraries” to Africa
Books For Africa and Little Free Library, two area nonprofits, have formed a unique partnership to raise money to send more than 2,000 “Little Free Libraries” to Africa over the next several years.
The two groups will ask local organizations, businesses, schools and individuals to raise the $1,000 needed to design, build and ship a unique one of a kind Little Free Library and books valued at $1,000. The sponsor will receive a Taking Stock Certificate stating they funded a library and its contents in Africa and a sponsor recognition sign will be located on the Library itself.
When the Library is erected the sponsor should be able to see pictures and the story of the library on Little Free Libraries worldwide internet map. Sponsors can also donate funds toward the overall program or buy a one-quarter share in a Library for $250.
Little Free Library, based in Hudson, Wisconsin, will design and build the miniature book exchanges that look like small cottages or schoolhouses on a post. Hundreds are already located in neighborhoods throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin, and the movement has spread around the world. Books For Africa, based in St. Paul, will supply the books from its warehouse and ship the libraries to sites in Ghana, Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa.
A distributor for Little Free Libraries has already been established in Ghana, West Africa. Other Little Free Libraries will be distributed across Africa using the network established by Books For Africa.
“We believe this is a terrific partnership between two groups whose mission is to spread education through books and reading,” said Patrick Plonski, executive director of Books For Africa. “Having free books available in communities and neighborhoods in Africa will be of great benefit both to students and parents.”
“Our goal is to ship more than 2,510 libraries to Africa, a total that would surpass the number of libraries sponsored by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.,” said Todd Bol, co-founder and executive director of Little Free Library. “These libraries will belong to the communities and to the people who use them. There are no library cards; no fees.”
Click here to send a Little Free Library to Africa.
The Books For Africa and Little Free Library partnership has been getting plenty of media attention!
Minnesota News:
The Minneapolis Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN, USA)
The St. Paul Pioneer Press (St. Paul, MN, USA)
Minnesota Public Radio
KSTP – St. Paul
National News:
CBS Atlanta, GA
Fox 5 Las Vegas, NV
KUAM News– Guam
KHQ 6 – Spokane, WA
And local Business Journals around the country including:
Albany, NY
Atlanta, GA
Austin, TX
Baltimore, MD
Birmingham, MO
Boston, MA
Cincinnati, OH
Charlotte, NC
Chicago, IL
Columbus, OH
Denver, CO
Dayton, OH
Dallas, TX
Louisville, KY
Los Angeles, CA
Memphis, TN
Milwaukee, WI
Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
Orlando, FL
Philadelphia, PA
Portland, OR
Phoenix, AZ
Sacramento, CA
Washington, DC
Little Free Library was started in 2009 by Bol and University of Wisconsin-Madison instructor Rick Brooks at Bol’s yard in Hudson. Its mission is to promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide. More than 5,000 libraries have been established in the U.S. and 36 countries around the world with over 1.6 million books donated and borrowed. Visit the Little Free Library website for more information.
Books For Africa was founded in 1988 by Tom Warth. Its goal is to end the book famine in Africa. Books For Africa remains the largest shipper of donated text and library books to the African continent, shipping over 50 million books to all 55 countries on the African continent since 1988. Last year alone, Books For Africa shipped 3.7 million books, and 167 computers and e-readers containing nearly 300,000 digital books, to 20 African countries. More than $3.2 million was raised last year to ship these books to the students of Africa.