Some time ago I joined an excellent US-based program called BookMooch. On their website you list books you’re willing to give away. For every book you list you earn points. Others who want those books pay points to receive them. Owners receive points for sending books. The book owner pays postage, but no other money changes hands.
This has worked well for me. I’ve given 60 books and received 16. Because of exorbitant postage costs I specify that people from overseas must ask me before mooching, but I have sent a lot of books to the US, Lithuania, the Philippines, Canada and other places.
When I hand over a large sum to the Post Office for postage I groan, and think: maybe should have tried to sell this book instead. But then when a book arrives in my letterbox that hasn’t cost me a cent, I appreciate the wonderful gift.
Today I received a request for several Xena books I had listed. The books were for a charitable organisation called Hercules Invictus in PA in the USA. (I’m guessing PA is Pennsylvania, but am happy to be corrected):
In antiquity Hercules Invictus promoted Athleticism, Physical Culture, Bold Enterprise, Community Service, Exploration, Education and Artistic Expression throughout the Mediterranean world.
Today Hercules Invictus, a 501(c) non-profit corporation, honors our ancient roots by championing the Olympian Ideal and launching Mythic Initiatives to enhance the quality of life in our local communities.
[Via : Hercules Invictus.]
This sounds like a fabulous programme dedicated to improving children’s literacy through games:
Mythic Literacy
Participants in our Mythic RPG program earn points for creative writing and game related art work. They also earn points for writing reports on the books they have read that relate to their adventures. As an added bonus, kids playing the Mythic RPG also develop their math skills and become more interested in history and literature. Parents are happy that their kids are having fun while demonstrating a greater love of learning.
Hercules Invictus’ goal is to make learning fun, exciting and very accessible.
[Via : Mythic Literacy.]
Since I used to work in the area of adult literacy in New Zealand, this was a request I couldn’t turn down. The books will be on their way tomorrow.
One of the ways the Mythic Literacy programme supports its work is by being a registered charity with BookMooch. Members are able to donate points to charity, and have already increased the scope of the work this charity is doing:
Thank you fellow BookMoochers for your heartfelt generosity (in points and added goodies), your warm wishes and your supportive words.
Thanks to your donations we’ve been able to increase the range and frequency of our programs over the next couple of months.
In addition to the activities listed on our website, we’ll be hosting two Narnia themed literacy events and a Comic Book day (with the Hawley Public Library) between now and the end of May.
Thanks again so very, very much! We feel blessed and are deeply touched by your kindness.
[Via : Barbarians for Literacy.]
It’s so cool to see the web being used for good!
