Hello, my name is Christine. I am a friend of Sydney and a Peace Corps Volunteer in Zambia. My school has started to build a small library and starting to slowly gather some books, but I would love a more variety of books for my students to learn and engage themselves to their fullest abilities. I heard that you may be able to help me in starting to enlarge this library with donating books? This would really mean so much to me. Having the students stay after school and read can really improve their confidence in learning English. Thank you so much. Christine K.

Emails like this one from Christine arrive in my A to Z inbox often. Receiving requests for children’s books from Peace Corps volunteers in Zambia, librarians in Swaziland, and teachers in Ghana always makes me smile. It brings me hope. These hard-working individuals believe in the power of literacy. Along with our partners across oceans, parent groups in McHenry County, church volunteers in Lake County, and community center volunteers also email to request book donations for their programs. And again, I am filled with joy as I read and know people all over the local area care about literacy. They, like me, believe reading opens doors.

To ship Christine the six boxes of children’s books we usually send, it will cost A to Z about $1,200. Our nonprofit organization is hoping to send at least five separate shipments in 2018 with Christine being our first one in this “sending season”. Please consider attending our annual fundraiser, Libations For Literacy, on Saturday, Feb. 3rd from 7:00-10:00 at Park Place in Crystal Lake, IL. You can purchase tickets on the A to Z website or buy them at the door. With your generous support, we can get Christine her books and help this Peace Corps volunteer promote the love of reading in Zambia.