by Emilie Crimmins, Barnes & Noble Holiday Book Drive Chair
It’s that time of the year again (think: hot chocolate, fuzzy socks, chilly weather) and Women’s Storybook project of Texas isn’t letting anything stop us from participating in the Barnes & Noble Holiday Book Drive – not even 2020!
Since the holiday season is going to look different for all of us, we’ve added a virtual aspect to our typical in-person book drive! We at the Women’s Storybook Project are very excited about this because it means even more people can participate in a variety of different ways. Here’s a quick breakdown on how you can get involved:
#1 – Donate a book! Click here to view our book wish list!
One way you can participate in our Holiday Book Drive is by donating one of your FAVORITE children’s books! Each book will be sent to a child along with a recording of their incarcerated mother reading the book to them. This helps keep their connection strong while their mother is away. In person donations can be purchased and given at the Sunset Valley Barnes and Noble store AND/OR at the La Frontera Barnes and Noble store in Round Rock. Click here to view our book wish list!
#2 – Volunteer in-person or virtually!
There are two ways to volunteer this year and with one of them you can do it right from your couch!
If you’re interested in IN-PERSON volunteering, we will have volunteers standing outside of B&N (safely distanced, masked, etc.) and offering info to shoppers as they enter the store. We, of course, will be monitoring COVID-19 and will cancel shifts if cases are surging. We want to be sure that ALL parties are safe and well. A link to sign up for shifts can be found below:
Sign-up for the South Austin location HERE
Sign-up for the Round Rock location HERE
If you’d rather participate virtually, we’re asking people to send us RECOMMENDATION VIDEOS of their favorite children’s books! The WSP volunteers and the families we serve love to see different suggestions from the community because they welcome a diverse library of books to choose from and send to their child(ren). A link to sign up for a 30-60 second video can be found HERE.
#3 – Donate money for supplies and/or Spread the word!
If you’re not sure of what book to buy and are short on time to volunteer, we would greatly appreciate your help sharing this event on your social media accounts! We also welcome financial support for postage, laptops, and other supplies! Our generous community has already helped us so much this year, we appreciate it very much. A link to donate can be found HERE
We know this has been a tough year for all of us in a variety of ways. We are grateful that we are still able to help children with incarcerated mothers in Texas! It is so important that we continue to stay involved with the families in our program, even if it’s by mail for now. The invisible string that connects us all is still alive and well.
We love you, Texas! Stay healthy and stay safe, y’all.
Click here to view our book wish list!
WSP Office:
5524 Bee Cave Road
Building M, Suite 131
Austin, TX 78746