Red Wing hike to raise money for books for youth in Africa
RED WING, Minn. (KTTC) – A Minnesota organization is making its way to Red Wing this Saturday to raise money for books for youth in Africa.
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Books for Africa plans to lead a community hike up Barn Bluff to enjoy great views of the city while also helping to fill bookshelves in Uganda.
Books for Africa is the largest organization shipping books to Africa. In 2024, the organization shipped more than 2.8 million books to 36 African countries.
Tom Warth, of Marine on St. Croix near Stillwater, founded Books for Africa in 1988. Warth has always had a passion for reading. He once owned a book publishing company, which he later sold to travel and hike. “I walked across Zanzibar; I walked across the Gambia. I climbed Kilimanjaro when I was 70 years old,” Warth said. While on a trip in Uganda, he noticed children’s libraries were nearly empty and wanted to make a change. “They should be able to sniff the pages and touch the paper, read the words, and be curious.”
Books for Africa volunteers collect, sort and ship books, computers, tablets, and library enhancement materials to as many countries as they can in Africa.
Warth hopes to fill every school library to the brim. Warth says, “We can send a book for 50 cents, and one book in a school library will be read by 50 children, that’s a penny a read, isn’t that incredible?”
Saturday’s hike will begin at the Red Wing Depot at 12:30 p.m. along 420 Levee Street. Participants must make a $100 donation to Books for Africa. Kids are free. You can also make book donations. The books will go to a YMCA in Uganda.