Register!............................1
Our Sister Schools.............2
Sponsor a Student!............3
Facilitator Resources..........4
For Registered Schools......5
About Books of Hope........6
About Latigi ......................7
Our Library........................8
My Class Cares.................9
Questions? Contact Us ....10
Letter from Ugandan Teacher
I am glad to acknowledge for the readers books and other books made by young children, which we received from your office. I humbly inform you that our pupils liked them so much and they greatly admired the way their fellow children designed them. They were also interested in pictures and other drawings the books contained. Not only pupils in AVSI group picked interest, but also other children and teachers in the school community were pleased.
We look forward to receive more books in case there is any given chance. Our pupils developed sense of making some related books once they are provided with materials required. We also encourage them and we promise to help them when necessary. We greatly thank you for all the services. God bless you always.
Yours Faithfully,
Sr. N. Jane
Collabrator/Headmistress
Letter from U.S. Teacher
The book construction has been a welcome challenge as the students learn about author/illustrator studies. The project provides for every aspect in meeting the National Standards for the Visual Arts as well as our high school essential learner outcomes and expectations. Their dedication pages are developed with sincerity and friendship.
The school and local community has embraced the efforts of my students. We recently received support from a local coffee shop that is opening their doors for an art display of their books as well an open mike evening, so The Books of Hope can be read prior to being sent to the children abroad. What a wonderful celebration of success and an opportunity to make others aware of the torment faced by children not so fortunate - a peaceful way to end any evening is a good book.
Much appreciated!
Sandra L.,
MD
I am glad to acknowledge for the readers books and other books made by young children, which we received from your office. I humbly inform you that our pupils liked them so much and they greatly admired the way their fellow children designed them. They were also interested in pictures and other drawings the books contained. Not only pupils in AVSI group picked interest, but also other children and teachers in the school community were pleased.
We look forward to receive more books in case there is any given chance. Our pupils developed sense of making some related books once they are provided with materials required. We also encourage them and we promise to help them when necessary. We greatly thank you for all the services. God bless you always.
Yours Faithfully,
Sr. N. Jane
Collabrator/Headmistress
Letter from U.S. Teacher
The book construction has been a welcome challenge as the students learn about author/illustrator studies. The project provides for every aspect in meeting the National Standards for the Visual Arts as well as our high school essential learner outcomes and expectations. Their dedication pages are developed with sincerity and friendship.
The school and local community has embraced the efforts of my students. We recently received support from a local coffee shop that is opening their doors for an art display of their books as well an open mike evening, so The Books of Hope can be read prior to being sent to the children abroad. What a wonderful celebration of success and an opportunity to make others aware of the torment faced by children not so fortunate - a peaceful way to end any evening is a good book.
Much appreciated!
Sandra L.,
MD
If you would like to send us a brief paragraph about your experience with the project, please drop us a line at info@booksofhope.org
Just click on a topic to expand it and learn more about it!
We are no longer accepting student-written fiction or autobiography.
We know that many U.S. schools have enjoyed participating in Books of Hope as part of their creative writing requirements. But the reality is that our sister schools in Uganda desperately need nonfiction instructional material, and over the last several years, we've inundated them with student-written fiction. They've enjoyed and appreciated our contributions, but storage space is very, very limited (in fact, Books of Hope has to purchase and transport shelves and containers for the books we send), and so we must now prioritize nonfiction, instructional material.
We still welcome student-written fiction when it is used to teach specific concepts. Storytelling is a great way to teach, and we don't want to discourage new and creative ways to present knowledge. You are also welcome to include examples of student-written poetry, folklore, or fiction alongside canonical or published samples when teaching about the various elements of poetry, folklore, and literature.
Likewise, student autobiographical information is welcome in the letter introducing the author, though we highly recommend that those letters don't focus solely on the author, but also contain messages of hope and friendship to the reader.
We’re looking for high-quality books that are factually and grammatically correct. They should be spell-checked. They should contain opportunities for some experiential learning or interactivity through learning exercises, quizzes, suggestions for reflection, observation or experimentation that can reinforce concepts. They should be colorful and fun to look at.
If this means your school only sends 15 high quality books, they will be more useful than 100 books that have lots of errors in them or that only engage students passively. This is especially important because our storage space is extremely limited at each school.
We strongly encourage you to consider having students work in groups, so that each student can focus on producing a high-quality section of a book. If you'd like and if you have the resources, instead of creating 20 individual books, you are welcome to make multiple copies of 4-5 books that your class has produced. In fact, multiple identical copies of books filled with rich learning material are more useful to our teachers than individual copies of varying quality.
You will receive some helpful tips and suggestions for creating high-quality books in your introductory packet. Please share these with all participating teachers at your school.
We can't stress how important it is that all books have type-written text in place of handwriting. Aside from the varying quality of handwriting among students, there are many subtle differences in the shapes of English letters throughout the world. We've seen the students at our sister schools often struggle with interpreting student handwriting. It has become a serious barrier to how useful the books actually are.
Please work with us and ensure that all of your books are type-written. Thank you!
We now have a list of supplies needed by each school, and you are welcome to send any combination of student-made books, donated books, and donated supplies that fit within your allotment of boxes.
Although we would prefer to purchase supplies locally in Gulu, experience has taught us that many of the most fundamental school supplies are not readily available. A few crayons, staplers, and glue sticks can go a long way!
For international customs clearance, we do need you to inventory any donations you'll be sending. We will send along a handy inventory form in your introductory packet when you register. This will help prepare you to fill out our online shipping form in May.
Please note the following changes in our contact information:
Email Address (unchanged): info@booksofhope.org
Phone Number: 608-466-4534
Office Mailing Address:
This is for all correspondence, including payments, purchase orders, financial donations, and your individual books/item that needs to be in our office by March 15, 2010.
New Warehouse Address:
This is for your final shipment of books and donated items that needs to be postmarked between May 15 - June 20, 2010. We will be contracting with a new warehouse in a dfferent part of the country this year, so please do NOT send to last year's address.
We ask all participants to use the United States Postal Service "ReadyPost 15 x 12 x 10-inch Mailing Carton"
These boxes are available at your local US Post Office and cost $3.19 per box. This cost is not included in your registration fee.
You can fit as much as possible into these boxes, as box weight is not a factor in your fee. In fact, for the sake of stability, we encourage you to pack them to the very, very top.
We are switching to standard-size boxes this year in order to enhance the durability of our shipment. Your boxes are loaded on to pallets, to form stacks approximately 7 feet tall. They undergo extreme forces and strain throughout the 10-week transatlantic journey. Standard-size boxes will help the stacks be more stable and survive the long trip intact.
We may also choose to have extra-sturdy, custom-made 5-ply boxes designed for shipment (this is common for organizations doing international shipping), and we will create them to specification so that the United States Postal Service "ReadyPost 15 x 12 x 10-inch Mailing Carton" fits perfectly inside our heavy-duty box. Our warehouse staff will insert your boxes into the extra-sturdy boxes upon their arrival, thereby increasing the likelihood that all of your boxes will arrive in one piece.
Two years ago, we switched to freight forwarding by sea, rather than airmail. USPS postage rates had sky-rocketed with fuel costs, and our volume became too large to send by post efficiently.
We now collect your boxes at a central warehouse, load them on to pallets, shrink-wrap the pallets, and then load the pallets into a 40-foot container (picture the trailer of a standard semi-truck). This container then travels by rail, sea, and truck to Uganda.
Throughout this transition to sea shipping, we've come to learn that our costs are more accurately defined by the volume of our shipment, not its weight.
Your participation fee now covers the physical space your boxes take up in the container. Breaking this value down into equal units was another reason for switching to a standard-size box (see above).
With our unpredictable economy and ever-tightening school budgets, we've decided to make our small group rate widely available as an option for everyone. Please bear in mind that the following breakdown is based on the total number of boxes, whether you're sending student-made books, donated books, or donated supplies (which are now strongly encouraged).
The participation fee for the 2009-2010 school year is:
There is no weight limit on any of the boxes, and we encourage you to fill them to the very, very top for the sake of stability during shipping.
We now give you the opportunity to sponsor the education of individual students in Uganda. Their profiles and financial requests are posted on our website, and you'll be able to sponsor any child partially or entirely. You will receive photos and updates from the student at least once a year. Check out Sponsor a Student! to learn more about our students seeking sponsorship.
New Deadlines:
Due by March 15, 2010:
Your individual book/item is due at our office mailing address
Postmarked between May 15 - June 20, 2010:
Your final shipment of books and donated supplies needs to be postmarked to our warehouse address
We are no longer accepting student-written fiction or autobiography.
We know that many U.S. schools have enjoyed participating in Books of Hope as part of their creative writing requirements. But the reality is that our sister schools in Uganda desperately need nonfiction instructional material, and over the last several years, we've inundated them with student-written fiction. They've enjoyed and appreciated our contributions, but storage space is very, very limited (in fact, Books of Hope has to purchase and transport shelves and containers for the books we send), and so we must now prioritize nonfiction, instructional material.
We still welcome student-written fiction when it is used to teach specific concepts. Storytelling is a great way to teach, and we don't want to discourage new and creative ways to present knowledge. You are also welcome to include examples of student-written poetry, folklore, or fiction alongside canonical or published samples when teaching about the various elements of poetry, folklore, and literature.
Likewise, student autobiographical information is welcome in the letter introducing the author, though we highly recommend that those letters don't focus solely on the author, but also contain messages of hope and friendship to the reader.
We’re looking for high-quality books that are factually and grammatically correct. They should be spell-checked. They should contain opportunities for some experiential learning or interactivity through learning exercises, quizzes, suggestions for reflection, observation or experimentation that can reinforce concepts. They should be colorful and fun to look at.
If this means your school only sends 15 high quality books, they will be more useful than 100 books that have lots of errors in them or that only engage students passively. This is especially important because our storage space is extremely limited at each school.
We strongly encourage you to consider having students work in groups, so that each student can focus on producing a high-quality section of a book. If you'd like and if you have the resources, instead of creating 20 individual books, you are welcome to make multiple copies of 4-5 books that your class has produced. In fact, multiple identical copies of books filled with rich learning material are more useful to our teachers than individual copies of varying quality.
You will receive some helpful tips and suggestions for creating high-quality books in your introductory packet. Please share these with all participating teachers at your school.
We can't stress how important it is that all books have type-written text in place of handwriting. Aside from the varying quality of handwriting among students, there are many subtle differences in the shapes of English letters throughout the world. We've seen the students at our sister schools often struggle with interpreting student handwriting. It has become a serious barrier to how useful the books actually are.
Please work with us and ensure that all of your books are type-written. Thank you!
We now have a list of supplies needed by each school, and you are welcome to send any combination of student-made books, donated books, and donated supplies that fit within your allotment of boxes.
Although we would prefer to purchase supplies locally in Gulu, experience has taught us that many of the most fundamental school supplies are not readily available. A few crayons, staplers, and glue sticks can go a long way!
For international customs clearance, we do need you to inventory any donations you'll be sending. We will send along a handy inventory form in your introductory packet when you register. This will help prepare you to fill out our online shipping form in May.
Please note the following changes in our contact information:
Email Address (unchanged): info@booksofhope.org
Phone Number: 608-466-4534
Office Mailing Address:
This is for all correspondence, including payments, purchase orders, financial donations, and your individual books/item that needs to be in our office by March 15, 2010.
Books of Hope
483 Presidential Lane
Madison, WI 53711
483 Presidential Lane
Madison, WI 53711
New Warehouse Address:
This is for your final shipment of books and donated items that needs to be postmarked between May 15 - June 20, 2010. We will be contracting with a new warehouse in a dfferent part of the country this year, so please do NOT send to last year's address.
Made available to registered schools in May 2010 after completing the online shipping tutorial and shipping inventory form.
We ask all participants to use the United States Postal Service "ReadyPost 15 x 12 x 10-inch Mailing Carton"
These boxes are available at your local US Post Office and cost $3.19 per box. This cost is not included in your registration fee.
You can fit as much as possible into these boxes, as box weight is not a factor in your fee. In fact, for the sake of stability, we encourage you to pack them to the very, very top.
We are switching to standard-size boxes this year in order to enhance the durability of our shipment. Your boxes are loaded on to pallets, to form stacks approximately 7 feet tall. They undergo extreme forces and strain throughout the 10-week transatlantic journey. Standard-size boxes will help the stacks be more stable and survive the long trip intact.
We may also choose to have extra-sturdy, custom-made 5-ply boxes designed for shipment (this is common for organizations doing international shipping), and we will create them to specification so that the United States Postal Service "ReadyPost 15 x 12 x 10-inch Mailing Carton" fits perfectly inside our heavy-duty box. Our warehouse staff will insert your boxes into the extra-sturdy boxes upon their arrival, thereby increasing the likelihood that all of your boxes will arrive in one piece.
Two years ago, we switched to freight forwarding by sea, rather than airmail. USPS postage rates had sky-rocketed with fuel costs, and our volume became too large to send by post efficiently.
We now collect your boxes at a central warehouse, load them on to pallets, shrink-wrap the pallets, and then load the pallets into a 40-foot container (picture the trailer of a standard semi-truck). This container then travels by rail, sea, and truck to Uganda.
Throughout this transition to sea shipping, we've come to learn that our costs are more accurately defined by the volume of our shipment, not its weight.
Your participation fee now covers the physical space your boxes take up in the container. Breaking this value down into equal units was another reason for switching to a standard-size box (see above).
With our unpredictable economy and ever-tightening school budgets, we've decided to make our small group rate widely available as an option for everyone. Please bear in mind that the following breakdown is based on the total number of boxes, whether you're sending student-made books, donated books, or donated supplies (which are now strongly encouraged).
The participation fee for the 2009-2010 school year is:
- $125 to send 1 box
This is generally best for small groups or a single classroom - $225 for 2-3 boxes
This is generally best for 2-4 classrooms - $50 for each additional box
For example, $275 for 4 boxes, $325 for 5 boxes, etc.
There is no weight limit on any of the boxes, and we encourage you to fill them to the very, very top for the sake of stability during shipping.
We now give you the opportunity to sponsor the education of individual students in Uganda. Their profiles and financial requests are posted on our website, and you'll be able to sponsor any child partially or entirely. You will receive photos and updates from the student at least once a year. Check out Sponsor a Student! to learn more about our students seeking sponsorship.
New Deadlines:
Due by March 15, 2010:
Your individual book/item is due at our office mailing address
Postmarked between May 15 - June 20, 2010:
Your final shipment of books and donated supplies needs to be postmarked to our warehouse address