Giving and getting books for birthdays and holidays and just because days is always appreciated. Children love to look at the pictures and listen to stories again and again, so we all need plenty of material for the bedtime routine. And tweens and teens are voracious readers when they get hooked on a subject (Harry, anyone? The Hunger Games?). There comes a point, however, when some of us have to admit that the books on the shelves, piled on the floor, stuck in boxes, or hidden in corners of the living room might be happier in another space. It can be emotionally difficult with children’s books because they remind us of first stories read, favorite characters, favorite book to chew on – you get the idea. Now, thanks to locally run bookBgone, it’s possible to start clearing out without too much heartbreak because the books will be going to other children who will love them just as much.
From their website:
In this short time, we have donated over 2500 pounds of books, forty-six boxes of which (fiction, non-fiction, kids and adult books) were sent to Joplin MO, through NJ-based organization Project 195, where all of school libraries were lost in the large tornado disaster. Other books recipients include a Newark, NJ non-profit that assists women and children; a Hoboken, NJ neighborhood initiative, a childhood literacy programs in Connecticut, an impoverished community in Kentucky, a western NY state animal shelter, a books-to-prison program, as well as various local non-profits.
Run by Andrea Hirschfeld and Lois Cantwell, both long-time Essex county residents, bookBgone is not a non-profit organization; it is registered as a Limited Liability Company (LLC). However, its mission is one that many people can support: To keep unwanted media out of our landfills and place them with those who want and need them.
Groups that have benefited from bookBgone’s efforts include Bed Stuy Campaign Against Hunger, which has a received thousands of books, as well as various schools and organizations across New Jersey and beyond.
Interested supporters can send funds through Paypal on the bookBgone website; all funds received are dedicated to defray shipping and storage costs. If you would like to volunteer, or if you need books or other media picked up from your home, free-of-charge, contact bookBgone anytime through email or by calling 908-912-6652.