Saturday, March 29, 2014

March Update - What a Lot of Books We Gave Away!

March came in like a lion and continues to roar here at First Book San Francisco.   We kicked off Read Across America month with our first ever Books On Wheels event, sponsored by Sports Basement, UESF and a whole host of other kind folk who donated time, food, banners and cash for us to put on this amazing event.  Thanks to our truckload of books from First Book HQ, we gave away 42, 561 books to around 2000 recipient groups.  We had a great write up in the San Francisco Chronicle too!

Have a look at our album of photos from the event on our Facebook page.  And here are a few choice ones.

The truck arrives!
Ken Tray of UESF pleased with the turnout!
90 volunteers helped to distribute the books
People came from daycare centers, libraries and schools.

Recipients lined up outside Sports Basement on Bryant Street


We continued our partnership with Sports Basement  and Charity Madness. What's that you ask?   Every year the NCAA basketball "March Madness" tournament captivates the nation with underdogs and buzzer beaters. Two years ago, leveraging this excitement, Sports Basement unveiled their "Charity Madness" tournament. Here's how it works: There are 4 divisions with 6-8 charities (or charity groups). Charities then encourage their supporters to mention their charity at Sports Basement's registers. The customer receives a 10% discount and the charity receives a 10% revenue share. The most funds raised wins that week's match up. "Losers" get a nice check for the funds they raised, "Winners" get to keep fundraising for an even bigger check. Everybody wins! Last year participating charities raised $39,142.


And that's not all!  We're also gearing up for Dia de Los Ninos San Francisco on April 6th. We're continuing our commitment to this wonderful day for Children and Books, celebrating reading and the pleasure of reading.

Read on friends, and keep supporting First Book San Francisco!