Tomorrow marks the start of Children’s Book Week 2012 — and the start of Love a Library, six days of fundraising for local school libraries here at Pufferbellies.
For years we’ve sponsored the Warren H. Drumheller Memorial Book Drive, helping our customers buy new books at a steep discount for their school libraries. The program was named in memory of my grandfather, and it was always an event that we held dear to our hearts. But it was complicated. The program was great for schools, but it was difficult to explain to our customers. We collected book wish lists from librarians, but that was cumbersome (for us and for them). We held it during the holidays, but it was too busy at the store for us to give it our full attention. So this year, we decided to make a change.
Love a Library replaces the book drive with what we hope will be a fun and easy way for families to help their school libraries buy new books. And we’re holding it during the biggest national celebration of books there is: Children’s Book Week.
May 7-12, simply shop at Pufferbellies (either in our store or on our website), and we’ll put 10% of the amount you spend onto a voucher for your school (all schools are eligible; just tell us at the time of your purchase). Then your librarian or teachers can use the voucher to buy books here at the store. They can purchase in-stock books, or we will special order the books they want most.
Get a head start on your holiday shopping; stock up for birthday gifts; even buy gift cards for yourself if you don’t need anything now but you know you’ll need it later! No matter what you buy, 10% of the amount you spend goes to your school. (The only caveat: purchases don’t earn points toward your PufferClub reward account.)
As just about everybody knows, schools around the country are in exceedingly difficult financial straits. The schools here in our community are no different. We know from our librarian friends that their budgets are extremely tight, and we hope this will help.
Why support school libraries in particular when so many school departments are struggling? We know that, in some cases, school libraries are the only access that children have to books. Although it’s hard for some of us who grew up surrounded by books to understand, many homes simply do not have books in them. And we know that access to books is critically important to a child’s future success in school and in life. Putting books into the hands of children is like giving them a magic key — a key that can unlock doors for their entire lives.
Thanks for your help and support. We’re looking forward to a wonderful week.
Love a Library 2012: May 7-12
