UW-Stout Library recognized by Books for Africa for half-million books donated
When University of Wisconsin-Stout’s Instructional Resources Service began its partnership with Books for Africa, the university donated small quantities of titles, and BFA Founder Tom Warth collected the boxes of withdrawn textbooks in his SUV
“But now, over these many years, we are needing semitrucks to collect the books,” he said. “Our partnership with Stout has been unique in many respects. No other institution of higher learning has done so much.”
Over the last 25 years, UW-Stout has donated more than 500,000 books to BFA. In recognition of its generosity and commitment to BFA’s mission of ending the book famine in Africa, IRS was recently given the Books for Africa Kilimanjaro Society Volunteer Award.
“It is impossible to measure the impact in Africa,” Warth added. “I like to say 50 young people will benefit from a title over its life span, and if it were not for Stout’s contributions, these are titles that those folks would never see. We all know the ever-increasing cost of college-level material. On behalf of the students of Africa, I thank you, your staff and students.”
BFA collects, sorts and ships books, computers, tablets and library enhancement materials to every country in Africa from its warehouse in St. Paul. Since it started in 1988, BFA has shipped more than 52 million books to help educate students across all 55 countries in Africa. It believes education is the great equalizer in the world and books are the foundation of a strong educational system.