The world is currently facing a global illiteracy pandemic:
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Globally, an estimated 781 million adults are illiterate. Of that number, approximately 64 percent are women.
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics
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In the United States, 30 million adults possess below-basic literacy skills. Eleven million are non-literate in English.
- National Assessment of Adult Literacy
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In Sub-Saharan Africa, 42 million children are not enrolled in school.
- WhiteHouse.gov
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Asia is home to 73 percent of the world’s illiterate population.
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics
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In Latin America, most children attend school an average of 5.4 years.
- U.S. Agency for International Development
At Better World Books, we are committed to the helping provide better lives and a chance for economic, social and political freedom through literacy. Read more about our social, environmental and economic impact.
Social Impact
Better World Books is proud of the impact we are having and our ability to provide funds and books to some of the most important literacy initiatives in the world today:
- Raised over $7.3 million for Literacy including
- $3.9 million for over 80 literacy and education nonprofits
- $3.4 million for libraries and thrift stores nationwide
- Contributed more than $1.5 million to college service clubs who have run book drives
- Directly sent more than 1.5 million books to Books for Africa, the National Center for Family Literacy, and Feed the Children
- Collected over 28 million books through active book drives at over 1,800 colleges and universities and collections from over 2,000 libraries
A few of our specific beneficiaries include:
- More than $2 million for Books for Africa
- $370,000+ for Room to Read
- $533,000+ for the National Center for Family Literacy
- $139,000+ for Worldfund
- $101,000+ for Invisible Children
- $88,000+ for the Robinson Community Learning Center
- $80,000+ for the New Orleans Public Library Foundation
- $671,000+ for additional literacy partners
- Established the Better World Books Fund to finance specific shipments through Books for Africa – (see story below)
Environmental Impact
Better World Books is committed to the environment. We never, ever, ever throw away a book. Any book we can’t find a proper home for is recycled. Always. We’re proud of what we’ve done so far:
- Diverted over 25 million pounds of books from landfills
- Reclaimed more than 680,000 pounds of metal shelving from libraries across the United States
- 11,000 tons of carbon offset on BetterWorldBooks.com sales
Economic Impact
At Better World Books, we believe in having an economic impact too. We have created over 200 full-time jobs (with full benefits) and revitalized a dormant packaging plant in an industrial center located in Northern Indiana.
Featured Story - Edna Adan Ismail
In the Somaliland region of Somalia, an extraordinary woman named Edna Adan Ismail runs her own obstetric hospital and trains midwives, underscoring how women’s lives can be saved even in the most difficult environments. The hospital site, once used as a mass killing field during the civil war for independence (1988-1990) under Siad Barre’s reign, is now a haven for bringing new life into the world.
Xavier Helgesen, co-founder of BWB, learned about this hospital in a New York Times article, and contacted the hospital after the announcement of the Better World Books Fund for Books For Africa. They teamed up and sent a container of books in the following July.
The Better World Books Fund is designed to pay for the shipping costs of containers of books, donated through Books For Africa. The fund is important, because the shipping costs for this one container alone were over $5,000.
The donated books will be used for the hospital’s medical library for the Edna Adan Teaching Hospital. While the library could not currently contain a whole container of books, any extra books will be distributed to Universities in Somalia and governmental nursing facilities.