A Guide to Our Annual Book Drive: Stories for East Harlem Readers
Every autumn, community members look for meaningful ways to give back before the holiday season arrives. One of the most lasting gifts is a book, especially for a child still building the habit of reading. At Booker T. Washington Learning Center, the annual book drive has become a beloved tradition that brings neighbours, families, and visitors together around a shared belief: every child deserves a story that reflects their world.
The Learning Center sits in the heart of East Harlem, where after-school enrichment, STEM learning, and youth development programs meet the everyday needs of local families. Books collected through the drive stock tutoring rooms, summer reading corners, and the library nook where older students prepare for college. Over the past decade, donations have travelled from living rooms, classrooms, and offices across the five boroughs to land in the hands of readers still finding their favourite genres.
The 2025 drive opens on Monday, 13 October and runs through Friday, 12 December. New and gently used books for ages four through eighteen can be dropped off at the Learning Center on East 104th Street or at any of the partner drop-off points listed below. Each contribution is logged, sorted, and matched to a reader's interests before the winter celebration, where every child leaves with a book chosen with their name on it.
Readers who follow the Australian publishing scene often recognise titles by Mem Fox and Andy Griffiths on shelves at Dymocks in Sydney and Readings in Carlton. Those same beloved voices are warmly welcomed in our drive, and shipping from overseas is encouraged when labels and customs forms are filled out carefully.
Why a Book Drive Matters for Literacy
A book left on a child's pillow can change the trajectory of an entire school year. Students who choose their own reading materials spend more time with books and report higher enjoyment than those handed a single assigned title. For children in East Harlem, where access to independent bookstores is limited, a personally selected book can feel like a small treasure.
The Learning Center pairs every donated title with a reader whose age, hobbies, and reading confidence align with the story inside. Younger children gravitate toward picture books with rhythmic language, while teens look for novels tackling identity and belonging. Filling the shelves with variety ensures no reader walks away empty-handed during the December giveaway.
How to Prepare Your Donations
Books travel a long road from donor to reader, so a little preparation goes a long way. Gently used titles should be free of torn pages, water damage, and excessive highlighting. Series titles are especially welcome, since finishing one book often sends a young reader searching for the next.
Donors are asked to fill out a small donation card with the title, age recommendation, and a sentence about why the book was chosen. These notes sit inside the front cover and become part of the gift. Many Australian donors include a personal message about what summers at the beach or afternoons in Melbourne's laneways mean to them, a small reminder that stories travel across oceans.
Drop-Off Locations and Shipping Details
The main collection hub is the Learning Center's lobby at 175 East 104th Street, accepting donations Monday through Friday from 9 am to 6 pm. Partner drop-off points include Word Up Books in Mott Haven, the lobby of El Museo del Barrio, and three public library branches on the Upper East Side. Each site displays a bright poster so first-time donors can spot the drive within seconds.
For supporters sending books from abroad, the recommended courier within the United States is USPS Media Mail. International donors typically use Australia Post's discounted economy rates. A clear packing slip with the donor's name and contact information helps volunteers send a thank-you note once the package arrives.
Suggested Titles and Reading Levels
Donors often ask what to send. The short answer: anything you loved as a child, anything you read aloud at the kitchen table, and anything you wish had been on your own bookshelf growing up. The longer answer comes in the form of four guideposts that help volunteers match books with readers during the December sort.
| Age Group | Best-Suited Formats | Examples on Our Wish List |
|---|---|---|
| 4–7 | Picture books, early readers, board books | Mem Fox, Mo Willems titles |
| 8–11 | Chapter books, graphic novels, poetry | Andy Griffiths Treehouse series |
| 12–14 | Realistic fiction, mystery, adventure | Morris Gleitzman, Kwame Alexander |
| 15–18 | Memoirs, contemporary novels, college prep | Jason Reynolds, Ibi Zoboi works |
Bilingual editions are warmly welcomed. A Spanish-English or Mandarin-English title helps a child keep up with school work while honouring the language spoken at home, which is one of the smallest but most meaningful gifts a donor can offer.
Schools and Community Partners
Local schools are the lifeblood of the drive. P.S. 171, the STEM Academy at Roosevelt, and several charter partners run classroom competitions where the winning group selects a featured author. Public library staff also help curate wish lists, a tradition borrowed from Australian library systems where summer reading challenges shape what families borrow between December and February.
Reading about Faroese school nature programmes reminded our team how outdoor learning and book culture can complement one another, sparking plans to pair each donated book with a leaf-shaped bookmark made by students during a garden lesson.
Coordinating Group Donations
Many of the largest contributions arrive from book clubs, faith groups, and corporate volunteer days. Setting up a small collection box in an office lunchroom for three weeks often gathers more books than any single donor could carry. Australian-based partners sometimes coordinate shipments through Sydney or Brisbane offices before books are forwarded across the Pacific.
A few friendly tips: assign one person to coordinate the group, use a shared spreadsheet to track titles, and pool shipping costs. Companies that match employee donations can extend their giving programmes to cover literacy-focused nonprofits, multiplying the impact of every box that arrives on our loading dock.
Beyond the Bookshelf All Year
The book drive is just one chapter in a longer story. Once a child receives a book in December, the tutoring team, summer camps, and family support services keep the conversation going all year long. Donors who want a deeper connection can learn more about our mentorship program for the teens who return to volunteer with younger readers.
Every title, every handwritten note, and every parcel that arrives between October and December adds up to something larger than a single gift. Together, they fill a library that carries a community's love forward, page by page.
Take part today: visit our donation page, choose a reading level that speaks to you, and send a story to a young reader in East Harlem. Each book goes home wrapped, named, and waiting for the moment a child opens the cover and finds themselves inside.