Take Action for Literacy
December 18, 2006—Here are several great ideas for volunteering to help fight illiteracy.
Building With Books
If you're looking for ways to help enhance education, and combine your work with a bit of travel, Building With Books (BwB) might be the thing for you. This US-based nonprofit organization, takes a group of students and teacher advisors twice a year to one of its international project sites to help build a schoolhouse. "Trekkies" are immersed in the local culture through workshops, day trips, and by living with village host families.
So far, BwB has built more than 180 schools in some of the poorest and most remote places in the world, and have helped more than 74,000 children in these countries have better access to education.
In addition to these global treks, BwB works with US students to spread awareness and fundraise for education in developing countries. From 2005 to 2006, students raised more than $80,000 by holding car washes, dances, bake sales, and other events.
Teach the World, and Learn From It!
What are the must-see places in your hometown that you would recommend to a tourist? What's your favorite spot, and how would you describe it in words and photos to readers all over the world?
What's your opinion of corruption in your country? Wanna share your ideas with young people from Sri Lanka or Mexico who are concerned about corruption in their countries?
These are just a couple of examples from the 150 projects at iEARN, a nonprofit organization that connects more than 20,000 teachers and 2 million youth in 115 countries, through online projects and forums.
Participants collaborate on projects with millions of students worldwide through email, Internet, and video and audio technologies. Projects cover a wide range of topics, including language, arts, social studies, science, and math.
How will this project improve the quality of life on the planet? This question is important for the budding global citizens who participate in iEARN, and want to propose their own projects. Projects should not only have a local significance, but also be of interest to the wider international community. So, knowing the answer to this question is the key to successfully launching your own project.
Books for Africa
Since 1998, Books for Africa (BFA) has sent more than 10 million English-language books to NGOs in Africa. Anyone can donate: publishers, schools, libraries, and even individuals. BFA collects the books, sorts them according to age and subject, and ships them to NGOs that distribute them to schools and libraries in Africa.
Run Your Own Book Drive
If you know of a place that needs a library, such as an orphanage, hospital, or school with low funds, how about organizing a book drive to help them out? It's really pretty simple.
1. Work with your school or other local community groups to fund and help organize the book drive. If you are planning to ship the books, you will need to be able to cover shipping costs.
2. Publicize your book drive. Create flyers. Send out emails. Post ads in your local newspaper or on websites such as craigslist.org. And make sure you clearly explain where you will be collecting, so that donors will know where to drop off their books.
3. If you are planning to donate to children, ask people to provide age-appropriate books.
4. Gather troops. Ask your friends, family, and neighbors, if they are interested in helping out. Get your teachers or community leaders to recruit volunteers.
5. To collect the books, use sturdy boxes that will be easy to lift and move when filled with books. If you are working with your school or an organization, make sure the organization's name is printed on the outside of each box. Place them where many people will pass during the day.
6. Check the boxes everyday. Replace them once they are filled, and store them carefully until you are ready to deliver them.
7. When you decide to close the book drive, close the boxes with tape, and write down how many books each box contains.
8. Deliver or ship the books to your chosen recipient organization.
^ top