And now donations are Tax Deductible too!

Just got your taxes done? Wish you had had more deductions? We have good news! Now, when you donate credits or PBS money to our Books for Kids donation program, you can claim those charitable contributions on your Federal taxes.*

A love of reading has a lifelong impact — no one knows that better than a member of PaperBackSwap! We’re constantly being asked by members if we can expand our annual Books for Schools campaign, to get more books to more needy kids. We set out to find more organizations who would like new books. We didn’t have to look very far: sadly, PaperBackSwap’s home state of Georgia’s school system is ranked 32nd in the US, and it has the largest dropout rate in the country. We plan to select a different US state for each future round of donations.

Our goal is to give each child 2 books for their summer reading. All the teachers are being encouraged to ask the kids to bring the books back to the classes in the Fall, so that they can swap them with other kids. A great way to learn about sharing!

Click Here to Donate

Our list of recipients includes five Title I schools (meaning each school has a high percentage of children from low-income families) and a summer camp for kids:

• The Title I Schools: Cumming Elementary, Chattahoochee Elementary, Chestatee Elementary, Midway Elementary, Whitlow Elementary
• A Place for Kids – summer camp created by The Place of Forsyth for students whose parents need childcare in order to work during the summer (2000 books)

Since these are all 501-C3 organizations, PBS Money and Book Credits donated to them can be recognized as tax deductions on your Federal tax forms. *

You can make your donations of Book Credits and/or PBS Money to either the schools or the camp  (or both if you like!).

Click Here to Donate

We’re thrilled to note that one of our members, Jerrie , volunteered to donate ALL of the credits to supply one of the schools (Midway). A huge donation from a huge heart! Thank you, Jerrie — the students at Midway will love their books! If you have a lot of credits, and want to make a big donation, please contact us for help facilitating that.

We thank all of our members who donate — no donation is too small! Every single Book Credit turns into a book for a child, and a single book has the power to change a life, as PaperBackSwap members surely know.

We believe that fostering an early love of reading helps kids all through their lives! Thanks for considering a donation of some of your unused credits and PBS Money to these worthy charities.

Richard and
The PaperBackSwap Team
www.PaperBackSwap.com

*We can’t offer tax advice, so please consult your tax preparer to discuss this in more detail — she or he may want to consider the cost to you when taking the deductions for Book Credits. For example, if you purchased the Credit from the Kiosk, then that price could serve as the basis of your tax estimate, whereas if you mailed a book to earn the Credit, then the cost of the postage, wrapping materials and gas expense to visit the Post Office could all be figured in. Again, please talk to your tax preparer about how best to take advantage of making a donation to a charity.

Dear Members,

So many of you have asked when our school donation program will launch again – we’re happy to announce that Books for Schools 2014 is now live!

Each year PaperBackSwap, through our generous members, donates brand-new books to selected deserving elementary schools across the country.

The goal of the program is to provide children with books that they can read for pleasure. Most of us in the club learned the love of reading at an early age, and this is a great opportunity to share that joy. In the past three years PaperBackSwap and our members have donated over 70,000 new books!

Last year, we reached our goal of 25,000 books sent to 24 deserving elementary schools. Check the details of last year’s recipient schools to see wonderful photos of the children receiving the books (here is an example from last year), and see their thank-you cards. If you know of an elementary school in need, suggest it here and we will consider it for our next Books for School donation drive.

Your donation of credits and/or PaperBackSwap Money (which is used to defray some of the shipping costs) or both help us to put books in the hands of children. Together PaperBackSwap and our wonderful members do make a difference!

Most of the participating schools this year are large, with enrollments of between 400 and 700. The school roster includes a special-ed school in AL, and a school in WV that does not actually have its own library – the local library they visit weekly has stepped up to collect and distribute books to the students (bravo to them for helping with this)!

And those of you who read the blog post about our visit to the Belize Children’s Home might want to look in on the Adopt-a-School drive for the abused and abandoned children who are being lovingly cared for there.

Thanks in advance for your help – the kids really appreciate the books!

Richard and
The PaperBackSwap Team