All of the information on this page is available to download and print in our Pre-Registration Packet. Click here to download!
Contact Information
How can I get in touch with Books of Hope staff?
I registered, but I can no longer find the Facilitator Resource Page
Program Description
What is Books of Hope?
Goals of Books of Hope
Do you have materials I can use to help me present about Books of Hope at a staff meeting or conference?
Can you send me a brochure?
Participation Fee & Fundraising
How much does it cost to participate?
How and when do we pay the participation fee?
Can you send us an invoice to help process the payment?
Can we get a receipt for our payment?
What if we cannot afford the
$150
participation fee?
Fundraising
Books of Hope Participation
Do we get to choose which country our books are sent to?
Who can participate in Books of Hope?
What if I don’t teach writing or art?
What is the participation process?
What is the individual book that we're supposed to send by
March 20, 2008
(Uganda) or
February 20, 2008
(India)?
How do I access the teacher/facilitator resource page?
School Matches
Do we get to pick what kinds of books we make or are the topics assigned to us?
How do we get matched with a school?
Deadlines & Shipping
What is the deadline for the books?
Where do we send our finished books?
Constructing Books
Do we need to buy blank books?
Can we use 3-ring binders to make books?
What is the best way to make books?
Do you have any recommendations of companies that bind books?
Monetary Donations, Donated Books, & Other Gifts
Can we send donated or purchased books or textbooks?
How do we send financial donations?
What other gifts can we send?
Volunteer Opportunities & Travel
Do you take teachers or volunteers along on the delivery trips?
Do you have any other volunteer opportunities available through the program?
CONTACT INFORMATION
PHONE: 608-441-3206
Please feel free to call Abha Thakkar anytime with in-depth questions or discussions about the program. We are happy to call you back if long distance charges are a problem. It's easiest to reach Abha on the phone between 11am - 7pm (CST).
EMAIL: abha@booksofhope.org
Email is perfect for quick yes or no questions or other brief exchanges of information.
ADDRESS:
Books of Hope
4013 Hegg Ave
Madison, WI 53716
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PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
What is Books of Hope?
Books of Hope is a service-learning program where U.S. schools sponsor a school abroad and create books to help meet the students' educational needs. It's an ideal way to incorporate service learning into your curriculum while also helping you meet your academic standards. What better way for your students to learn a subject than to teach about it through writing a book?
Schools and organizations participate in Books of Hope by registering for the program and being matched with a school or organization that serves vulnerable children in either Uganda or India (your choice). Students write, illustrate and bind books that will then be delivered to their sponsored school. They also have the option of collecting donations or donated books to send abroad. In exchange, teachers will receive instructional resources to help them facilitate the project and all schools will receive feedback from their sponsored school before the end of the school year.
Books of Hope allows teachers to seamlessly incorporate service into practically any unit of any classroom at any level. Whether you teach reading or science, math or social studies, Books of Hope is a great fit. Since the children at your sponsored school study many of the same subject areas that American students do, books with specific, accurate educational content can help provide instructional materials for their classrooms.
Over 30,000 students, teachers, parents and community members from over 1000 schools across the country have been involved in the Books of Hope program. During the 2006-7 school year, we collected over 2,500 pounds of books and next year we hope to double that.
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Goals of Books of Hope
1. To enhance literacy and learning abroad by creating educational materials for vulnerable children in countries where English proficiency is desirable and/or necessary for success.
2. To support literacy in U.S. schools by motivating students to read and write for an audience of their peers who will value their work.
3. To foster empathy and social responsibility in American students by providing an effective way for them to learn about and make a difference in the lives of children facing war, poverty, disease, and slavery around the world.
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Do you have materials I can use to help me present about Books of Hope at a staff meeting or conference?
Yes, you can download and print a 2-page informational handout along with various other materials in our Introductory Materials section.
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Can you send me a brochure?
We have a 2-page Informational Handout that you can print and copy. Due to our limited budget, we do not mail printed materials. You can download and print this handout by clicking here: 2-page Informational Handout
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PARTICIPATION FEE & FUNDRAISING
How much does it cost to participate?
The participation fee is
$150
per school/group.
This includes:
Unlimited international shipping for one school
Distribution of books to your sponsored school
Facilitator's Guide
Introductory DVD
DVD of the book delivery trip
Photograph of one of your books at your sponsored school
Certificate of participation
Online resources to support service learning
Once your books are finished, we ask that you send them to us at our Wisconsin address. We’ll coordinate international shipping and delivery.
The participation fee does NOT include domestic shipping to our address in Wisconsin, but you should be able to do this inexpensively through the U.S. Postal Service media mail classification (more information about this is available after you register).
We hope to send as many books to as many children as possible while involving as many American students as possible. Thus, we have determined that the best fee structure is one in which we do not discourage the production of books (such as charging per book or per pound) or create a disincentive to involve as many students as possible (by charging per student or per classroom). Instead, we feel that the project can have the greatest impact and be most cost-efficient by establishing a schoolwide participation fee that acts as an incentive to get more students involved in producing more books. The fee is the same whether you involve 3 classrooms or 12, so it's in a school's best interest to get as many students involved as possible.
We also will be taking advantage of our unique and collective ability to send books in bulk. We will be sending the books via shipping container, which is affordable for us because of the nationwide scale of our project. If, as a school or organization, you submit 30 pounds of books or more, you will save more money than if you had arranged for shipping and delivery yourself (including customs taxes, which our partner organizations in Uganda and India incur for every delivery they accept).
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How and when do we pay the participation fee?
After you register on our website, your school’s contact person will receive an invoice via email. We ask that payment be submitted as soon as possible after you’ve received the invoice. We accept checks (made out to “The Memory Project”) or cash.
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Can you send us an invoice to help process the payment?
Yes,
after you register, your school's representative will receive an invoice via email.
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Can we get a receipt for our payment?
As soon we receive your payment, your school’s contact person will receive a confirmation and a receipt via email.
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What if we cannot afford the
$150
participation fee?
Due to the cost of international shipping and delivery, we cannot accept books without a participation fee.
If your school or organization cannot afford the participation fee, please consider seeking out sponsor organizations or individuals to help defray the expenses. We find that Rotary and Kiwanis clubs are often very willing to assist. Another option is to ask for a small contribution from each family to cover the cost of shipping their child's book. Other schools have held book festivals to show off their students' books and raise money. Sponsors who contribute a $1 can sign the inside cover of the book. We'll have other fundraising ideas available on the website for registered schools.
We encourage smaller groups to collaborate with larger institutions. We see this as a win-win-win situation - collaboration provides even more books for vulnerable children while spreading awareness among more of our own community members and allowing us to cover our shipping expenses.
We do have an alternative fee structure for groups smaller than 35 students. Due to the limitations of our budget, we can only use this fee structure sparingly, but we're happy to discuss it. Please contact Books of Hope Director Abha Thakkar at (608) 441-3206 to discuss options.
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Fundraising
While fundraising sounds like an extra task to complete, it actually can become an important part of the service-learning experience. Three reasons to fundraise (even if your principal is willing to pay the fee):
1. It extends the act of service to more than making books
2. It teaches students about the challenges of international relief work. The truth is that it takes money and resources to help people half-way around the world. Raising funds is an important aspect of service.
3. It asks students to raise money for someone else rather than for something they want. Most students are unaccustomed to giving away money; they’re used to being recipients. This gives them a chance to give something away that they personally value.
Consider seeking out sponsor organizations or individuals to help defray the expenses. Another option is to ask for a small contribution from each family to cover the cost of shipping their child's book. Other schools have held book festivals to show off their students' books and raise money. Sponsors who contribute a $1 can sign the inside cover of the book.
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BOOKS OF HOPE PARTICIPATION
Do we get to choose which country our books are sent to?
You will have the opportunity to choose the country when you complete our online registration form. Once you’ve registered, you will be directed to our School Sponsorship page where you will be able to read about specific schools in India and Uganda and their book requests. If, after seeing the school profiles, you would like to switch countries, you are welcome to do so. Just send us an email and let us know. You can learn more about our India site here and our Uganda site here.
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Who can participate in Books of Hope?
Anyone can participate as long as they are able to pay the
$150
participation fee and can designate one contact person who checks email regularly. The majority of our participants are schools, but we also have student organizations, after school programs, neighborhood centers, home school students, church youth groups and Sunday school classes, university residence halls, special education classes, and a variety of other kinds of organizations involved in the program. Our participants range from first grade to university level students.
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What if I don’t teach writing or art?
We have requests for tens of thousands of books in every subject area. In fact, we are greatly in need of math and science books, along with books in social studies, health science, physical education, music, English language literacy, and art. Books of Hope allows you to integrate literacy into your curriculum, regardless of the subject you teach. You can see all the possible book topics here.
What better way for your students to learn about a topic than to write about it? Rather than writing an essay or solving problem sets, consider having your students write a short book for an eager audience! Your books can include puzzles, quizzes, simple science experiments, math problems (and answers!), glossaries, diagrams, activities, etc.
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What is the participation process?
1. A group representative (teacher, principal, student leader, youth pastor, program director) registers for the program on our webiste (www.booksofhope.org)
2. The representative will receive an automated confirmation email with a link to facilitator resources, including the Facilitator's Guide. You will also have the opportunity to choose a school to sponsor.
3. The representative will receive an invoice for participation via email. We ask that groups submit their participation fee to us before their books are completed. Checks may be made out to "The Memory Project." We also accept cash. This money is needed in advance to allow us to secure a shipping container (a down payment is necessary) and set up delivery in Uganda and India.
4. After approximately one week, the representative will receive an introductory DVD in the mail (March 2007 delivery trip DVD for Uganda; a Free the Slaves DVD for India).
5. Books of Hope staff make a delivery trip each year (generally between February - April) to set up delivery of all books, deliver the single item from each participating school/group to their sponsored school, and collect photographs and video as feedback for American schools. Groups should designate one book or book-sized item that they would like to have delivered personally and photographed with students at their school during this trip. This item should be sent seperately from other books so as to avoid confusion in shipping. This single item is needed by
March 20, 2008
for Uganda and
February 20, 2008
for India.
6. After the delivery trip, groups will receive photographs, a DVD of the delivery trip, and any other letters or artwork we were able to collect.
7. When the books are completed, packages should be shipped to us at our Wisconsin address. The deadline for the remaining books is
June 15, 2008
. They will be sent via shipping container after the school year ends.
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What is the individual book or book-sized item that we're supposed to send by
March 20, 2008
(Uganda) or
February 20, 2008
(India)?
We deliver and photograph one book or item (per school) personally so your school can get feedback within the same school year. All other books are sent after the school year ends in a shipping container (due
June 15, 2008
).
This item should be sent to us separately from other books so as to avoid confusion in shipping. It should be something your students would be excited to see in a picture with the children abroad.
This item should be the size of a standard book (about 8.5 by 11) and can be:
- Any kind of book or book-shaped item;
- A compilation of stories, poems, or letters;
- A scrapbook of your students making the books;
- A photographic tour of your school or hometown;
- Letters and photos of your students;
- Anything within the size limitations (approx. 8.5” x 11”) that your students would like to send.
We will personally deliver this item and take a picture of it in the hands of children at your sponsored school. Upon our return, you will receive a photograph of your item, pictures of your school, an update on the well-being of your school’s students, and a DVD of our overall delivery trip.
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How do I access the teacher/facilitator resource page?
We have an extensive facilitator resource page only available to registered users. There is no link from the main website, but you should receive the link after you register. If you no longer have access to the page, please contact Abha at abha@booksofhope.org and we'll be happy to send you a copy of the link again.
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SCHOOL MATCHES
Do we get to pick what kinds of books we make or are the topics assigned to us?
Once you register, you will be directed to our School Sponsorship page where you can read about each school's demographics and book requests. We have tens of thousands of books requested in dozens of different subject areas (fiction and nonfiction, including math, social studies, English language literacy, science, health science, recreation, arts and crafts, and music. See our Possible Book Topics page here.) and you get to pick which school you’d like to sponsor based on what books they’ve requested. For example, if you would like to make elementary level science books with your students, you can sponsor a school in Uganda or India that has requested elementary science books.
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How do we get matched with a school?
Once you register, you will be directed to our School Sponsorship page where you can read about each school's demographics and book requests. We have tens of thousands of book requests in dozens of subject areas at every grade level. You can decide which school you’d like to sponsor based on their book requests, and then send us an email to let us know the school’s name and which books you would like to make for them. (More information about this is available after you’ve registered).
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DEADLINES & SHIPPING
What is the deadline for the books?
The deadline for the majority of your books is
June 15, 2008
. We'll be sending them in a shipping container after the school year ends. However, in order to insure that your school gets specific feedback within the same school year, we will deliver and photograph one book or book-sized item (per school) personally. For Uganda, we need this book by
March 20, 2008
. For India, we need this book by
February 20, 2008
.
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Where do we send our finished books?
You will send them to us at our Wisconsin address. Domestic shipping (to Wisconsin) is NOT included in your
$150
participation fee, though you should be able to do this inexpensively through the US Postal Service Media Mail classification (more information is available about this after you register). We will arrange international shipping and delivery. Unlimited international shipping is included in the
$150
participation fee.
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CONSTRUCTING BOOKS
Do we need to buy blank books?
No, we do not recommend that schools use blank books. Blank books are costly for schools to purchase and heavy (and thus expensive) for us to transport. Blank books are also more challenging to work with and do not always produce legible books, as students either need to write directly into the book or print out text and paste it into the blank book. See below: “What is the best way to make books?” for our recommendations.
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Can we use 3-ring binders to make books?
No, we ask that you do not use 3-ring binders or photo albums as they are very bulky and heavy and increase the costs of international shipping.
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What is the best way to make books?
Here are some recommendations in case you'd like them, but this is only one way to construct your books. As long as the books as legible, durable and colorful, feel free to experiment and be creative!
1. We encourage books with lots of text to be printed on a computer for the sake of legibility
2. Please use clean, easy-to-read fonts instead of flowery fonts (our readers are English language learners)
3. Once the text is printed, hand-made illustrations are great. Students are also welcome to be creative and use any medium they'd like. You can also collaborate with your art department for the illustrations.
4. Make the books colorful and attractive. Like children everywhere, our young audience is more likely to be drawn to a book that’s fun to look at.
5. Please include a letter and photograph (if possible) from the authors/illustrators. Rather than simply a biography of the author, this letter should be a message of hope and friendship to the children who will be reading the book.
6. Laminate the front and back covers; it's not necessary to laminate every page. It'll save you money and it'll be more ecologically friendly
7. Three-hole punch or spiral bind the books or be creative with the binding. Just be sure the book bindings are solid and secure for durability. However, we don't recommend binders or photo albums as they are very heavy and bulky to transport.
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Do you have any recommendations of companies that bind books?
No, as of now, we do not officially work with any companies that bind book for schools. However, we welcome recommendations and we are open to partnerships. Please email Abha at abha@booksofhope.org if you have any ideas you'd like to share.
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MONETARY DONATIONS, DONATED BOOKS, & OTHER GIFTS
Can we send donated or purchased books or textbooks?
Yes, donated or purchased books are welcome as part of your unlimited international shipping and
$150
participation fee. We just ask that textbooks and other nonfiction books are not too outdated: no more than 10 years old and ideally less than five years old. Please include donated books in the same box as your final shipment of finished books.
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How do we send financial donations?
Please send financial contributions separately, in their own envelope (NOT with any shipment of books) with a letter indicating where you'd like your donation to go (the name of your sponsored school, the NGO you'd ike to support, Books of Hope, etc). Please make checks out to "The Memory Project." Cash is fine, too. We will insure that your contributions arrive properly at your school.
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What other gifts can we send?
Any other gifts are welcome provided they meet the following criteria:
1. The items should not be locally available for purchase in your sponsored school's country. If the items are available, we ask that you send financial contributions instead in order to help support the local economy.
2. The gifts should be personalized or personally made by your students (for example, student-made board games or bookmarks).
You may include these gifts in the final shipment with your finished books, although if you include items other than books in your package, you will not be able to use the US Postal Service's Media Mail classification.
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VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES & TRAVEL
Do you take teachers or volunteers along on the delivery trips?
No, we have not taken teachers with us yet, though we have had several requests. Books of Hope staff have only made one delivery trip (to Uganda) to date, so we need more experience before we can develop this aspect of the program. Our delivery trips must take place during the school year in order to get feedback to schools before summer, so even if we were able to take volunteers, this might be an insurmountable limitation for most teachers.
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Do you have any other volunteer opportunities available through the program?
We do have occasional volunteer opportunities for anyone in the Madison, WI area. Opportunities will vary throughout the year. Please contact Abha at (608) 441-3206 if you're interested.
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