GeekDad has received a heartfelt plea from Colleen Mondor, moderator of Guys Lit Wire, a blog that recommends books for teen boys:
I am again running an annual book fair for a worthy high school. This year (along with Powells Books) we are helping Ballou High School in Washington DC. I have a post up at GLW explaining how it all works and, most importantly, a video of how empty the school’s shelves are. They made the video in January and there were 1,150 books in the library and 1,200 kids in the school – which is less than a book a kid which is, honestly, appalling.
Don’t get me started on how I feel about the fact that the librarian has to get people like me to help them fill those shelves.
We have 900+ books on the list which is a mighty big thing and while we’ve sold more than 400 so far, we have a long haul to go to get them all on the way by the 20th when the fair shuts down. Melissa Jackson, the librarian, doesn’t really believe it will happen. We’ve always sold out before though and I do hope, for her and her students, we can do it again.
As you can see, this school and its students need help. The wish list Mondor has put together along with Ballou librarian Melissa Jackson is worth checking out just as inspiration for your own kids or yourself. With reading levels at the school ranging from fifth grade through college prep, there’s everything from graphic novels to titles by the Mythbusters, David Macaulay and Neil Gaiman. You can scan the list, find a book you’d like to donate at a price that works for you, and then purchase it for the school. (See the post at Guys Lit Wire for ordering directions.)
This sounds like a cause GeekDads can really get behind. Let’s join with Guys Lit Wire and give Ballou Senior High a hand in reaching their goal!
