What is a Community Book Drive?

Community Book Drives are run by students and are based at universities. Each project is responsible for becoming the one-stop shop for book donations within their local communities. Projects must also fundraise to ensure books collected that are suitable for East Africa can be sent. 

In line with READ International’s mission, the primary destination for any book collected through these Community Book Drives is Tanzania or Uganda, provided it matches their syllabus. Books that are not appropriate are sold online (with the help of Better World Books) to raise funds for READ, or, as a last resort, recycled. The Community Book Drive is designed to run from September to June, to coincide with a university academic year. Books are collected throughout this period, with three particular points of focus; these times will be called the ‘Push for Books’ and will each last for one week. 

  How will it work?

READ will provide Book Drop Boxes for people to donate their books into! All books collected are sorted, according to our unique three-step process.

1.     First and foremost, every book is assessed for its relevance to the Tanzanian syllabus. We are committed to sending only the most relevant, up-to-date and good quality books – this is always the priority.

2.     All remaining books are assessed for their online selling potential; those with a high potential are sold.

3.     Any books that can’t be sent or sold, as a very last resort, will be recycled. This is not as bad as it sounds – many books are made into cardboard boxes so we can collect more books!  We even receive a couple of pence per book when we do this, which pays for more books to be sent.

READ will never throw a book away, we will always find a sustainable outlet. So it’s time to donate your old books to READ so that they might find new homes, and in the process benefit students in Tanzania and Uganda.

How can i get involved?

Become a Project Leader

Each university project will need two Project Leaders; a Community Book Drive Leader and a Fundraising Leader. Each Project Leader position will require a commitment, on average, of roughly 5 hours a week. Regardless of their individual position, each Project Leader is committed to the project and its good functioning throughout the year. This is a wonderful opportunity to develop skills in project and volunteer management, event planning, time management and organisation.

Become a Volunteer

If you are keen to get involved but are not ready to commit to taking up a Project Leader position, why not become a volunteer? Join a project at, or close to, your university and be part of the team of volunteers helping out with the various activities of the project. You can volunteer for as many hours as you like depending on your interest and availability. Whatever time you wish to give will be greatly valued and essential to the successful completion of the project.

Am I eligible?

To be a Project Leader

Project Leaders are students who want to make a difference whilst at university. Project Leaders are ambassadors of READ both in their university and the community. They are motivated and enthusiastic students who have a high degree of maturity, integrity and commitment. They should not be afraid of a challenge and be ready to honour a year long commitment.  

To be a volunteer 

Our volunteers are what keep READ going; their enthusiasm and readiness to help makes it all happen. You do not need specific skills or qualities to become a volunteer. Everyone is welcome to volunteer with READ be it for an hour, a day or the whole year. Even if you are unsure, try it out; it will be a great experience!

Our Partners

The Community Book Drive works with the support of Better World Books (BWB); a social enterprise with a mission to promote literacy worldwide. BWB has been running successful campus book drives in the USA for the past six years, helping to raise £7.2 million for literacy charities and groups and diverting over 29 million books from landfill. In 2008 BWB reached British shores and has grown rapidly ever since, helping to find new homes for thousands of unwanted books. They are a really original, innovative, socially and environmentally responsible organisation.

If you have books to donate please contact us.