Making an iMpact – Volunteering at Books for Africa

There is a book famine in Africa that needs our help.

In parts of Africa a limited supply of traditional books in modest schools and libraries may be the ONLY source of literature and educational texts to which students will ever have access. Most African children who attend school have never owned a book of their own. In many classrooms, 10-20 students share one textbook.

Based in Saint Paul with a second location in Atlanta, GA, Books For Africa  aims to solve this book inequality by shipping millions of donated books to Africa each year, providing books to rural school libraries, orphanages, adult literacy programs, and community resource centers.

 

Lending a Hand

In May 2016, the MSpace and iSpace Furniture iMpact Team organized two volunteer shifts to assist in the packing of books at Books For Africa’s Saint Paul warehouse. Books are transported to Africa from the U.S. aboard container ships, strategically packed into giant boxes. Our teams first sorted through the donated books to determine which would be packed and which would be recycled, then neatly stacked them (like a game of Tetris) to maximize space.

Sorting and packing!
Our iSpace team pulled two shifts.
Packed like a game of Tetris, these books will make their way to Africa.
Hello from Books For Africa (in St. Paul, MN)

 

Whether we are working at Books For Africa, preparing potatoes at Second Harvest Heartland, collecting Pillows for Bridging, or making sandwiches for the 363 Food Program, volunteering to give back to our local and global communities is the least we can do! We hope we can encourage others to do the same. In addition to doing good, we’re getting to know each other better and promoting teamwork at the same time.