Curl Up With a Good Book

I was going to write about ways to fulfill resolutions to be healthier in the new year while also helping charities earn money, but with the weather so cold, I’d rather curl up with a good book than go for a jog. I’ll share some ways to help others by working out soon.

For now, here are some ways to relax and read while helping others. I’ll start with the free one first—We Give Books. It’s simple, you read a book online and they give a book to someone in need. They’ve donated 1.6 million books already and are looking to donate a million more.

We Give Books is a fantastic resource for parents, teachers, and anyone who loves to read children’s books. They have a free online library of over 150 outstanding children’s books, including Llama Llama, Skippyjon Jones books and DK science books.

All of the books available for online reading are children's books for kids through age ten. There is a mix of fiction and nonfiction, a range of authors, and an equal balance between read-alouds and books for independent readers. We Give Books adds new books every month, together with special seasonal offerings. They’re also collecting money to help rebuild libraries in schools hit by Hurricane Sandy. It's meant to encourage reading to young children so get your kids or your friend's kids and start reading to them! You will be helping put books in the hands of children who need them.

 

Another organization fights illiteracy when you buy books. Every time you purchase a book from BetterWorldBooks.com, they donate a book to someone in need. The books go through non-profit partners Books for Africa and Feed the Children. Better World Books has converted more than 53 million books into over $8.6 million in funding for literacy and education.

 

It’s also diverted more than 26,000 tons of books from landfills. So, yes, you can find used books at great prices at Better World Books and help others while helping yourself to a good book.

 

There are also many charities that support literacy in different ways. Here are seven that you might want to support as well:

      1.       Literacy for Incarcerated Teens (LIT). Literacy for Incarcerated Teens, Inc. (LIT) works to end illiteracy among New York’s incarcerated young people by inspiring them to read.

      2.      United Through Reading. United Through Reading offers deployed parents the opportunity to be video-recorded reading storybooks to their children when they are away on deployment

      3.      Reach Out And Read. Reach Out and Read prepares America’s youngest children to succeed in school by partnering with doctors to prescribe books and encourage families to read together. The program begins at the 6-month checkup and continues through age 5, with a special emphasis on children growing up in low-income communities.

      4.      Reading Tree. Reading Tree is a non-profit organization that provides donated, gently used books to disadvantaged families. Since 2007, Reading Tree has distributed several million books to Title 1 schools and partnering charities that support local libraries and literacy programs.

      5.      Book Aid International. Book Aid International (BAI) supports literacy, education and development in sub-Saharan Africa. BAI has sent more than 30 million books to partner libraries since 1954.

      6.      First Book. First Book provides new books for children in need. It has distributed more than 85 million books and educational resources to programs and schools serving children from low-income families throughout the United States and Canada.

      7.      The African Library Project. The African Library Project changes lives book by book by starting libraries in rural Africa. Their grassroots approach mobilizes U.S. volunteers, young and old, to organize book drives and ship books to a partner library in Africa.

      So read a book with your kid online or curl up with a good book from Better World Books and support literacy or give to one of the charities above.