Tag Archives: Book donation

Hard working day packing educational materials for the Fulbright Book Partnership Program

Jenni, María, Ana Gil-García, Ron Harvey and Cristina

Jenn Schneiderman, Elizabeth García, Ana Gil-García, Ron Harvey and Margarita Lineros at the Ethiopian Comunity Center

García packing

Friend of Fulbright Elizabeth García helps our chapter packing books.

By Elio Leturia—ON SATURDAY APRIL 27, 2014, Fulbrighters and Friends of Fulbright got together at the Ethiopian Community Center in Rogers Park to continue working with the Book Partnership Program that was originally established in 2007.

Fulbright Chicago board members Ana Gil-García, Ron Harvey and Jenni Schneiderman worked with friends of Fulbright Elizabeth García and Margarita Lineros packing books and educational materials to be donated to schools in foreign countries and charitable organizations.

Fulbrighter Roger Fassinou from Benin, came to visit and discuss the possibility of sending books to schools in his native country

Fulbrighter Roger Fassinou from Benin, came to visit and discuss the possibility of sending books to schools in his native country.

During this phase of the Book Partnership Program, our chapter has donated: 40 boxes of books to Open-Books, 15 boxes to the Salvation Army, 50 boxes to Discover Reading, 25 boxes to Better World Read, and 30 boxes to Books4cause.

Background: The Book Partnership began in 2007 and has involved strategic relationship building between our Chicago Chapter and Fulbright Alumni Associations in different countries. Over the last 7 years, thousands of books for school-aged children have been donated. They’ve then been shipped to Fulbright Alumni in Panama, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, Moldova, Ghana and Botswana. The Fulbright Alumni Associations have then distributed the books to local NGOs and schools, and ultimately into the hands of teachers and children.

Second book drive of the summer

Jeff Shaw, North Shore Country Day School teacher enters the Ethiopian center with his donation.

Jeff Shaw, North Shore Country Day School teacher, enters the Ethiopian center with his books donation.

TWELVE BOXES OF BOOKS were collected during the second summer book drive organized by the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association that took place at the Ethiopian Association Community of Chicago on Saturday August 17, 2013 from 9 a.m until 2 p.m.

Chicago Chapter board member Kari Burnett, and Elizabeth Pereira-Maguet, a friend of Fulbright, spent five hours working on this book drive, which is the second of this summer. Board member Ana Gil-García who is our membership director, is also coordinating this valuable effort, “The Fulbright Book Partnership.”

Kari Burnett and Elizabeth Pereira-Maguet at the Ethiopian Community Association of Chicago during the book drive.

Friend of Fulbright Elizabeth Pereira-Maguet and board member Kari Burnett at the Ethiopian Community Association of Chicago during the book drive.

Donated books at the book drive

Donated books at the book drive

This ongoing initiative’s goal is to collect 5,000 books this year. As reported before, the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association has donated books and educational materials by partnering with the Fulbright offices and associations in different countries. Books have been donated to Panama, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, Moldova, Ghana and Botswana.

Ethiopia and Macedonia are the countries that we will be partnering with in order to donate educational materials next.

Jeff Shaw, a Fulbrighter who spent one year teaching in Manchester, UK in 2000-2001, donated books in this drive. He is a teacher at North Shore Country Day School in Wilmette. “I had a great experience teaching in England,” he said. Currently he teaches library and technology skills.

Board members Kari Burnett and Ana Gil-García talking to Fulbrighter Jeff Shaw, who donated books on this drive.

Board members Kari Burnett and Ana Gil-García talking to Fulbrighter Jeff Shaw, who donated books at this drive.

Book drive for Ethiopia and Macedonia

books

DO YOU HAVE GENTLY USED BOOKS that your library is ready to discard? Would you like to see those books in the hands of students from Ethiopia and Macedonia who do not have books at their school?

The Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association will be holding a book drive! And we need your help.

WHEN  Saturday, August 17, 2013

TIME from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

WHERE  Ethiopian Community Association of Chicago, 1730 West Greenleaf Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60626, Phone: 773-508-0303

People from our team will be there to assist you with your box(es) of books and to give a big “Thank you!”

This book drive is part of our chapter’s ongoing world initiative “The Fulbright Book Partnership” Program. So far, we have donated over 1,000 books to schools and universities in Panama, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, Ghana, Moldova and Botswana.

Chicago Chapter donates books to Ghana and Moldova

Books were collected from Skokie Public Library and Niles Township Library to be donated to Ghana and Moldova.

Books were collected from Skokie Public Library and Niles Township Library to be donated to Ghana and Moldova.

By Elio Leturia—THE BOOK PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM, an ongoing project of the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association, recently donated 18 boxes of books collected over the past months from different libraries around Chicago.

So far, since the beginning of this program in 2007, books have arrived in Panama, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt and Botswana.

Ana Gil-García

Ana Gil-García

On February 8, 2012, eight boxes of books were donated to schools in Ghana through the organization Books4cause*. Last Friday February 15, Romina Hendrzak from the organization Moldova AID*, received ten boxes to be sent to Moldova schools.

Ana Gil-García and Heidi Rockwell, board members of the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association have been working together on these latest donations. “The Book Partnership is a non-stop flight of the Chicago Chapter that connects fellow Fulbrighters around the world through books. In spite of the recent obstacles of shipment and storage, we were able to ship the books through non-for-profit organizations that operate locally and have similar missions as our project,” Gil-García said.

Heidi Rockwell

Heidi Rockwell

For this donation Rockwell collected books from Skokie Public Library and Niles Township Library, and the Chicago Chapter is getting ready to start a book drive not only in CPS schools and Chicago universities, but in other suburban towns. “There was a ‘twist’ from the original project as we have incorporated non-for-profit institutions to help us deliver the books. But, the goal and purposes are preserved: helping children around the globe with books to read. The Chapter is working to refine the process so that we can still work with our fellow Fulbright international association members to keep the sense of partnership,” Gil-García added.

 *Books4cause is a non-profit located in Skokie that runs book drives on campuses across the U.S. and accepts book donations in Chicago. They accept any cd, DVD and book in good condition and ship them to Ghana in Africa. For more information about the program go to http://www.books4cause.com.
*Moldova AID is a non-profit organization that primarily supports informational and educational programs to the Republic of Moldova. For more information visit www.moldovaaid.wordpress.com. Moldova AID launched a new project called A Book Share. The objective of the project is to expand access to academic books to encourage research and development in various fields of science and technology in the Republic of Moldova, and to promote English as a universal platform for accessing information.

First round of books arrive to Egypt

Dr. Gil-García met with Dr. Penn and some of his students during the donation of 45 books for Menoufia university.

DR. EVERETTE PENN, A MEMBER of the national board of the Fulbright Association, traveled to Cairo earlier this month with a group of students from Texas, and brought 45 English literature books to donate to Menoufia University, a public higher education institution in Egypt.

Dr. Ana Gil-García, leading the Fulbright Chicago Chapter book project, will be delivering Dr. Penn’ s books to Menoufia University along with 110 books she collected from Northeastern Illinois University faculty during her most recent visit to Chicago last week.