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Books for Better Lives

We need your help to make Books for Better Lives a reality!

Books for Better Lives, or BBL, is a new collaboration between the Houston Food Bank, Books Between Kids, the Houston Public Library System, and Houston Community ToolBank to distribute books to deserving students when they are not in school. The distributions will be in partnership with the Houston Food Bank’s meal programs for these same students.

Gensler has agreed to spearhead the book drive for this summer’s pilot program. The goal is to collect a minimum of 12,000 books, one for each youth served, this first year.  IFMA Cares and IFMA Sustainability have joined forces to contribute toward this goal.

The Houston Food Bank, among its many programs, serves meals in the summer to 12,000 deserving school-age youth at 300 locations through the Food Bank's Kids Cafe program. During crises like the COVID-19, they are using additional means to distribute meals to HISD students in need. 

Books Between Kids is a nonprofit that collects, prepares, sorts, and distributes donated books to children at their schools. Last year alone, they distributed over 300,000 books to children in the Houston area.

Here is how you can help. While you are at home, please gather books that can be donated. We ask that you please share this email with your co-workers, friends, neighbors, places of worship, college alums, gyms, and other groups. This is also a great opportunity to involve your children and let them spearhead drives among their own networks, including sports teams, schools, and scout groups.

Eligible Books:  new and like-new books for ages 0-18, including:

• Story books
• Chapter books
• Leveled readers
• Children’s non-fiction books (that kids would pick out to read for fun)
• Board/toddler books
• Spanish or dual language books

Books we cannot use:

• Books with torn binding, pages or covers
• Books with yellowed or discolored pages
• Religious books
• Workbooks, coloring books, sticker books, and puzzle books
• Reference books, textbooks or outdated non-fiction books
• Teacher or parenting books and materials, such as flashcards
• Audiobooks, DVDs and CDs
• Books with content that is inappropriate for children

In light of the COVID-19 crises, this is the time to get the word out and start collecting. The Books for Better Lives team is staying flexible for now as to all means for collecting and distributing these books to those in need.

Stay safe, stay tuned, and thank you for making a difference.