Success Stories & Recent News

What happens to a container of Books For Africa books once it arrives in Africa? What kind of impact will your donation have on the lives of children in Africa?

Here are some photos and stories about BFA shipments as well as recent news about our organization. 

BFA Doubles Warehouse Capacity in Atlanta

Books For Africa is pleased to announce that we have doubled our book-processing capacity at our Atlanta warehouse. With our new and improved warehouse space, BFA will be more ready than ever to ship even more books, computers and other educational materials to students in Africa.

Patrick Plonski, executive director of BFA, and BFA founder, Tom Warth, traveled to Atlanta to celebrate the warehouse expansion from January 31 and February 1. The two were all smiles as they observed just how many more books will be ready to ship from the new space. 

 

 

BFA has sent over 26 million books to 46 countries since our founding in 1988, making us the largest shipper of educational books to Africa in the world. In 2011, we shipped 1.9 million books. With the new space, we expect to send 2.2 million books to Africa in 2012.

 

Everyone at BFA is thrilled to be able to so greatly increase the number of books we send to the children of Africa. “Our mission is to end the book famine in Africa. Books are the key to education and education is the key to building democracy and building economic growth,” Plonski said.

The Course Hero Knowledge Drive passes 35,000 books donated to Books for Africa. Plans to send representative to Gambia in February!

The Course Hero Knowledge Drive has recently reached a new milestone – 35,000+ books donated to children abroad since its creation in November of 2010.

Established in partnership with Books for Africa, the Course Hero Knowledge Drive is founded upon a simple premise: for every 10 academic documents a student contributes to Course Hero, 1 book will be donated to Books for Africa. This movement allows Course Hero to add to the powerful social learning community and resources they provide to students around the world, while simultaneously giving children in Africa the gift of education and the ability to attain a better quality of life.

With Student Leaders at top universities across the country helping to guide and lead this movement on their campuses, the Knowledge Drive has quickly transformed from a small initiative at a handful of schools, to a movement supported by students and teachers nationwide. The desire to advance education both here and abroad has been phenomenal, with students creating school specific Knowledge Drive social media campaigns, hosting live donation events, and writing articles in campus newspapers to build support around this powerful initiative that is now taking place across 100+ campuses.

In February, the Course Hero Knowledge Drive will be taking its next big step as it sends a representative abroad to Gambia to distribute the books that it has helped donate. With the assistance of its Student Leaders, the Course Hero Knowledge Drive has selected the 1 Million Books for Gambia Project as the primary recipient of its donations, and is thrilled to have the opportunity to hand deliver the books to the children, schools, and libraries that it strives to serve.

With the help of Hand in Health, the founding group behind the 1 Million Books for Gambia project, Brandon Styles, a member of the Course Hero Knowledge Drive team, will be documenting the trip abroad, and looks forward to sharing the images, stories, and insights that will be collected.

Books for Africa's mission to create a culture of literacy and provide tools of empowerment is one that perfectly aligns with the Knowledge Drive's mission to make education more accessible for students and children worldwide. As a resource and a movement built by students, both Course Hero and the Knowledge Drive fully believe in the power of education, and are excited to push this movement to even higher levels of success as it supports Books for Africa and the fantastic children, students, teachers, and projects that it stands behind.

For More information, go to the Course Hero site.

New York Giants Player Prince Amukamara Offers Chance To Win Tickets and More in a Super Bowl Raffle to Benefit Books For Africa and IFESH

 

Prince Amukamara, the rookie cornerback of the Super Bowl-bound New York Giants, is giving sports fans everywhere a chance to win Super Bowl tickets while supporting St. Paul-based Books For Africa and Arizona-based IFESH (International Foundation for Education and Self-Help).

Amukamara wanted to give money to the two groups to aid in their work in Africa, as his parents are from Nigeria. “This is a unique and fun way to engage Super Bowl fans and others in a great cause that will benefit the people of Africa,” said Pat Plonski, executive director of Books For Africa. “Our goal is to end the book famine in Africa. We’re happy to partner with IFESH and Prince Amukamara in this effort.”

The top prize is two tickets for the Feb. 5 Super Bowl at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis as the guests of Amukamara.

Entering the raffle is easy. Just go to the Celebrities for Charity website to purchase tickets. Each ticket costs $2, with a minimum purchase of five. Deadline is 9 a.m. Central time, Thursday, Feb. 2.

BFA Founder, Tom Warth, Will Make a Walk to Remember Across the Gambia

 

 

Ending the book famine in Africa will take more than just baby steps. That is why Tom Warth, founder of Books For Africa, will be making a trek across the Gambia.

Of 1.8 million people in the Gambia, a country hardly the size of Delaware, only 40% of people over the age of 15 can read. Warth is making the hike to raise awareness and funds to bring them books.

Warth and a group of supporters will be distributing donated books as they make their way along a 25 KM route on the Trans-Gambia Highway. The highway spans the central part of the country, which is almost completely surrounded by Senegal.

Books For Africa has partnered with Hand in Health—another Minneapolis based non-profit—to collect 44,000 books to be delivered during the walk. Among the books is a full “Law and Human Rights” library, donated by Thomson Reuters as a part of the Jack Mason Law & Democracy Initiative.

The books are ready to be shipped from BFA warehouses. All that is needed is $10,000 for shipping costs. BFA can send two full shipping containers of books to the Gambia with those donations.

So far, $1,000 has been donated to the project. Please make all donations through Razoo.

Want to follow the Walk? More information is coming soon on the Books For Africa site.

Books For Africa Team Meets with U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria

Books For Africa Executive Director Pat Plonski, board member Mike Essien, and members of the IFESH team (International Foundation for Education & Self-Help) met with U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria Terence McCulley at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, on October 22, 2010, to discuss collaboration on advancing education in Nigeria.

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