Success Stories Archive

New Research Illustrates the Tremendous Power of Books

A recent New York Times editorial cites new research showing that kids who grow up in homes with many books receive the equivalent of three years more schooling than kids without books—yet another reason to help BFA put books in the hands of African children. Click on the link above for more info...

Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi (RKMC) Law Firm Hosts Event Introducing BFA to Atlanta Community

Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi (RKMC) Law Firm in Atlanta hosted an extraordinary evening on June 25, 2010, presenting Books For Africa to members of the Atlanta community. Lisa Heller, a managing partner at RKMC, hosted the event, and Nina Sharpe and Joshua Navarro with RKMC organized a beautiful event at the City Club of Buckhead. In attendance were Vince Farley, Honorary Counsel of the Republic of Mali, and well as the Honorary Counsel of the Republic of Botswana and other dignitaries. A focus of the event was the Jack Mason Law & Democracy Initiative of Books For Africa, which sends books to African law schools. Click on the link above for more info and photos...

Minnesota Monthly Posts Slideshow of BFA Fundraising Luncheon with Ambassador Agyekum of Ghana

Minnesota Monthly recently posted a slideshow of the annual Books For Africa fundraising luncheon and reception that was held on April 28, 2010. His Excellency Daniel Ohene Agyekum, Ghana's Ambassador to the U.S., was our special guest and keynote speaker. Click on the link above to view the slideshow...

Warehouse Party in Atlanta a Big Hit

Books For Africa celebrated the one-year anniversary of its warehouse in Atlanta, Georgia, with a volunteer appreciation party on May 8, 2010. The event featured musical entertainment by the Books For Africa warehouse band. Tom Gitaa, BFA board president, thanked everyone in the Atlanta area for the tremendous support provided over the past year, noting that the thousands of warehouse volunteers have exceeded our wildest expectations. Thank you, Atlanta! Click on the link above to view more photos...

The Honorable Ombeni Sefue, Tanzanian Ambassador to the U.S., Hosts BFA’s Summit Society Members

The Honorable Ombeni Sefue, Tanzanian Ambassador to the U.S., hosted a reception in honor of Books For Africa’s Summit Society members on May 10, 2010, at the Tanzanian Embassy in Washington D.C. Ambassador Sefue is honorary chairman of BFA’s Summit Society, which is made up of BFA’s top-tier donors. The Washington D.C. reception at the Tanzanian Embassy was attended by BFA donors, board of directors members, diplomatic representatives from other African embassies in Washington, and representatives of the USAID Africa Education Initiative. Ambassador Sefue thanked all BFA donors for their generous financial support and noted to the group, “Without a book, how can any learning occur?” Click on the link above to view more photos…

Books For Africa Thanks Minnesota Zoo Guests for Their Generous Donations

Books For Africa collected books and had an information booth at the Minnesota Zoo over Memorial Day weekend in support of the Zoo’s new exhibit, Faces of the African Forest. Pictured here are five-year-old Simon and his mother, Brenda, along with BFA board member Henry Bromelkamp. Books For Africa thanks the Zoo guests for their generous donations!

Tom Warth and Friends Climb Eagle Mountain in Support of African Children

Books For Africa founder Tom Warth and a group of BFA supporters climbed Eagle Mountain on May 23, 2010, to raise funds to send more books to children in Africa. Eagle Mountain is the highest point in Tom's home state of Minnesota and is north of Lutsen near the Boundary Waters. The climbers raised enough money to send thousands of books to African children. Click on the link above to view a slideshow of the climbers and the incredible scenery in northern Minnesota…

Native Ethiopian Asratie Teferra Speaks of the Power of Books and Access to Education

Asratie Teferra, a BFA board member and longtime supporter, gave a moving speech at the BFA fundraising luncheon in April 2010. He told about how he grew up in a one-room grass-covered hut in rural Ethiopia and how access to education and books changed the course of his life profoundly. Click on the link above to read his story…

Lerner Publishing Welcomes Ghanaian Ambassador Agyekum and Donates Books

Harry Lerner led a tour of the Lerner Publishing Group Warehouse in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on April 28, 2010, with special guest His Excellency Daniel Ohene Agyekum, Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States. Ambassador Agyekum was in town to give the keynote at the annual Books For Africa fundraising luncheon. Lerner generously donated another pallet of books for a BFA shipment. Click on the link to view a slideshow of the warehouse tour.

U.S. Embassy Distributes Over 20,000 BFA Books to Schools Throughout Rwanda

The U.S. Embassy in Kigali is distributing a shipment of over 22,000 BFA books to 41 schools throughout Rwanda. Stuart Symington, U.S. Ambassador to Rwanda, is shown is this photo handing out books to students at Groupe Scolaire Mukamira in Nyabihu district, Northern Province. “Learning is good and interesting when you share with others. Make sure you read those books to your brothers and sisters,” he advised the students. Click on the link above to read the full story in The New Times, a Rwandan daily.

In Kenya, we were in a small village and the students had a wonderful school. They were eager to learn. They had motivated teachers, but they didn’t have any books in the school. They had no library. And so, imagine how proud I was to open up this box of shiny new encyclopedias and dictionaries from Books For Africa. They want more of your books. They can’t wait. They can’t get enough of these books.
— U.S. Congressman Keith Ellison (MN)

Become a member of the Kilimanjaro Society today