Ballou Book Fair

Every year, Colleen from Chasing Ray and Guys Lit Wire sets up a special book fair connected to Ballou Senior High School in Washington, D.C. In Colleen's own words:

Every year, Guys Lit Wire lends its platform to host a book fair for Ballou. Working with librarian Melissa Jackson and her students, we build a wish list of titles they need and then ask the internet to buy a book (or 2) (or more) and send some joy their way. It's quick and it's easy and for book lovers in particular, it's a no-brainer.

We all know that books matter to kids, and we all know why buying books for teens who do not have wide access to them is a smart investment in our world's future. For Ballou, the school fund for book purchases is not large and as a Washington Post article showed earlier this year, the dollars for books in DC often go to wealthier neighborhoods. Also, when they get money schools like Ballou are often not able to purchase the sort of fun or seemingly frivolous titles that teens would really to read.

That is where the Guys Lit Wire Book Fair for Ballou comes in. We buy the books the kids ask for, plain and simple.

The mailing address is already set-up for checkout and there are nearly 400 books to choose from with a price range that starts under $5. We do hope you will find a book that you want to send to Ballou and help us fill their shelves with the titles these kids want so very much to read.

Here's the wishlist: http://tinyurl.com/BookFairforBallou

Please share the link to the wishlist as well as the link to Colleen's post at GLW via your blogs and social media to help spread the word.

Don't let it stop there. If you know of a library, school, shelter, or hospital that's in great need of books and other items, give back. Rally up your co-workers, patrons, students, and friends, gather donated items (new or gently used), and donate them to your chosen organization or charity. Share your good fortune and good spirits with others.

Reddit 2012 Gift Exchange

Check out the reddit reddit 2012 Gift Exchange, which is putting books in classrooms! Registration ends tomorrow, March 5th. Here's more about it:

We know how good it feels to give someone a book they have always wanted to read or one you think they will love. Now imagine how much better it will feel if, when giving a book to a fellow redditor, you also make a donation to DonorsChoose.org! We have a page at Donors Choose where you can pick any book related teacher request that you see fit. Upon signing up for the book exchange, you will receive a special code and, when you enter it on DonorsChoose.org, they will DOUBLE your donation up to $1,000! Donations aren't required but we really hope you will donate!

I learned about the exchange from Amber Benson, who is one of many awesome authors supporting the exchange.



reddit: Books are awesome. Check them out.

Blogger Loses Everything in Fire

Just read this post and wanted to pass it along in hopes that others would help:

Fellow Blogger loses everything...
January 21, 2012, Posted by Donna at 11:05 am

One of our fellow bloggers and dear friend Yara lost everything yesterday in a devastating house fire. She and her family are all safe, but they have lost everything.

If you want to help Yara and her family we suggest you do so through the Twilight Moms site. If you want to support Yara, please follow this link.

We totally trust that Lisa and the Twilight Moms will make sure every penny reaches Yara and her family. And every penny will help them rebuild the pieces of their world.

Sending positive thoughts your way, Yara!
~EFG Staff

To help and/or donate, please click here.

The Make It Safe Project

I just learned about The Make It Safe Project at Lee Wind's blog. I hope that you (yes, you, wonderful readers) will help support Amelia's efforts. Here's more about the project, as detailed at their website:

The Make It Safe Project donates books about sexual orientation and gender expression to schools and youth homeless shelters that lack the resources to keep their teens safe.

Giving: We donate books to K-12 schools, their Gay-Straight Alliances (a group that educates the school community about equality), and LGBT-inclusive youth homeless shelters nationwide. For information on how you can help give books or receive books for your school or shelter, please click here.

Support: If you are wondering what starting, leading, or joining a GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) would be like, you can browse through stories written by teens who have been involved with GSAs here.

Advice: If you have experience starting, leading, or being in a GSA, you can anonymously submit a story about your experience here.

One book can save a life.

For every $100 raised, the Make It Safe Project sends a pack of GLBTQ books to a school or youth homeless shelter. The pack will include around ten of the books on the following list:

Fiction Books
Ash by Melinda Lo
Annie On My Mind by Nancy Gardener
Empress of the World by Sara Ryan
Luna by Julie Anne Peters
Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by David Levithan
Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger
Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez

Nonfiction Books
It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living edited by Dan Savage and Terry Miller
GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Teens by Kelly Huegel
Queer: The Ultimate LGBT Guide for Teens by Kathy Belge
Kicked Out edited by Sassafras Lowry
Like Me by Chely Wright
Let's Get This Straight: The Ultimate Handbook for Youth with LGBTQ Parents by Tina Fakhrid-Deen

If you are a student, teacher, parent, or principal at any K-12 school or a volunteer or client at a youth homeless shelter in the USA and your school or shelter is in need of books, please contact the Make It Safe Project.

Library-Loving Challenge

Jennifer R. Hubbard has organized the Library-Loving Challenge, inspiring bloggers and readers to raise funds for their local libraries, bookmobiles, and book-related organizations. Participating bloggers have pledged to donate X number of dollars or cents per comment on their challenge posts.

Consult the list of participants at Jennifer's blog and click through to each blog to leave your comments!

This is such a fantastic idea. I am only sorry that I didn't learn of it sooner, or I would have joined. I also wish I had posted about it yesterday, when I first learned of it, because the participating blogs have varying deadlines and most of them are this weekend or sometime next week. Quickly now -- Go post at their blogs and support their noble causes before their deadlines pass!

I further challenge you to visit your local library this weekend, whether you regularly do so or haven't for a while, and ask if they accept donations. Donations need not be monetary - they may need volunteers and you can donate your time on a regular or random basis, and/or you may be able to donate books to the stacks or to their book sale!

Cross-posted from Bildungsroman.