Blog Posts

February 2025

6/13/2025

Fire Relief Books - Help Needed!

Access Books has received a substantial donation of books to benefit schools affected by the recent fires. We need help organizing and distributing the books.

This Saturday (2/15), we are organizing books for schools affected by the fires and schools on our service schedule that no longer have a book drive sponsor. IT WILL BE ALL HANDS ON DECK!

We also need volunteers willing to load their cars and deliver to schools on Tuesday morning. We will provide school contact information and instructions. There will be assistance at the school site.

Book sorting starts at 8:30 a.m. Please sign up if you can join us.

Dreamers Society Inc.
2457 E 30th St.
Vernon, CA 90058

Volunteers should wear clothes they don't mind getting dirty. If you have box cutters and/or Sharpie markers, please bring them.

Volunteer

Our thoughts are with those who have lost their homes and communities. We appreciate folks who are able to step up during this challenging time.

Copyright © 2025 Access Books, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you've volunteered with us in the past or have donated to support our cause.

Our mailing address is:

Access Books

PO Box 64951

Los Angeles, CA 90064

Add us to your address book

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

0 Comments

January 2025

6/13/2025

0 Comments

Volunteers and Books Desperately Needed

The Access Books team is still reeling from the tragedies of the Palisades and Eaton fires. Our deepest sympathies go out to those who lost their homes, communities, and livelihoods as a result of these catastrophic fires.

While none of our planned service sites were directly impacted by the fires, many of our partner schools were. Books that were painstakingly collected through book drives are now lost — either burned or damaged — as a result of the fires. Families who were previously scheduled to volunteer with us are displaced or focused on rebuilding their own communities.

We need your help.

In the coming weeks, please consider volunteering with us and/or donating books. We especially need books and volunteers on January 25th at Arminta Elementary and February 1st at Foster Elementary.

Before donating books, please review our donation requirements.

Ideally, bring your books with you when you volunteer (we need books on-site before 9 a.m.). If you are not volunteering with us, you may drop books at the school the Friday before our scheduled volunteer event. Otherwise, books may be dropped in advance of the event at:

10325 Orton Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90064

or

1417 Monterey Blvd
Hermosa Beach, CA 90254

In addition to refurbishing Foster Elementary's library, we are also planning to create a reading garden on February 1st. Tragically, the donor nursery burned. If anyone is able to donate succulents, please drop them off at the school or at 10325 Orton Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90064.

We could also use a few more able bodies at our warehouse book sorting event TOMORROW.

Looking further ahead, additional volunteers and books will be needed on April 26th, May 3rd, and May 17th.

Volunteer

This is such a challenging time for our city. The effects of these fires will continue to ripple across communities. Our hearts go out to those directly impacted and we appreciate those who are able to step up during this difficult moment. We know fallout from this tragedy will be far-reaching and long-lasting.

Let's stay safe and take care of each other. Stay tuned for volunteer opportunities for families and communities directly impacted by the fires.

Donate

Copyright © 2025 Access Books, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you've volunteered with us in the past or have donated to support our cause.

Our mailing address is:

Access Books

PO Box 64951

Los Angeles, CA 90064

Add us to your address book

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

0 Comments

holiday 2024

12/20/2024

0 Comments

Libraries Are a Beacon of Hope

“The America I loved still exists, if not in the White House or the Supreme Court or the Senate or the House of Representatives or the media. The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country

We are living in uncertain times with many unknowns. Across the country, access to books, libraries, and trustworthy information are under threat. In our small slice of the world, Access Books strives to create welcoming spaces with an abundance of interesting books. We want to give students whatever it is they are seeking: adventure, fantasy, intellectual stimulation, or, simply, calm. To this end, we filled the shelves of elementary and middle school libraries throughout the fall. We also connected students with their favorite authors and distributed books for home libraries.

This semester, nearly 1,000 volunteers distributed approximately 77,000 books for school, classroom, and home libraries.

Among our other activities:
8 school libraries were refurbished. Books published in the 1950s were weeded and replaced with current, interesting titles.
7,700 students received bundles of 6-8 books to add to their growing home library for winter break. Nearly 40,000 books are now in home libraries.
6,000 books were provided for a new middle school library in Compton.
2,400 students met an author and received a book.
500 books were distributed to book clubs.
Dozens of parents participated in literacy workshops and received take-home libraries.
4 podcasts were produced through our partnership with Kitty Felde.
2,300 books were distributed internationally to orphans in Mexico and girls in Afghanistan.

And our work is never done! Access Books currently has 19 volunteer opportunities on our calendar for winter and spring 2025. Sign up for one (or two or three) today!

Volunteer

We are also looking for board members. If you place a high value on children's literacy and libraries, considering helping Access Books realize its mission by joining our Board. Email [email protected] if interested.

Access Books is committed, more than ever, to providing children a refuge filled with books and acceptance. We want to thank our many volunteers, great staff, and dedicated donors. During these challenging times, books, reading, and libraries are more important and vital than ever. We believe that all children ― regardless of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status ― have the right to an educational environment that fosters a love of reading. Study after study has shown that students who read more do better, not just academically, but in life. Every child deserves to discover the joy and benefits of reading for pleasure.