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One year ago tonight, a whole mess of the Gulf Coast was, well, a whole mess. Last year we gave out links to various sources for donations, from aiding people to finding pets.

Now that it’s a year later, attention is again turning to philanthropy, and I have to say, without sounding like Lee (Leigh?) Greenwood, I am so proud of my own country when I realize the depths to which people gave to help out American citizens who were displaced by thousands of miles and literally lost everything they owned.

Candy and I have been trading email messages, talking about how we can mark the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and an article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy caught my attention. School libraries in the Gulf region are seriously hurting, because they are a “lower priority among philanthropists than public libraries,” though school libraries are struggling to rebuild their collections as well. Further, school libraries are funded through individual school boards, which are also pressed with the absorption of new students from other communities, and the rebuilding of their own physical buildings. Another problem is that most of the donated books are often inappropriate reading for school children and are usually leisure reading materials for grown ups.

Moreover, from Charity Navigator, I learned that:

Compassionate people from across America have cleaned off their book shelves, rushed off to the local book store to purchase new books, or have held a book drive, all in an effort to replace the library books destroyed by Katrina. Thanks to their efforts, the New Orleans Public Library system reports that it has received over 1 million books. While no one can deny that this is a tremendous outpouring of generosity, it is also a perfect example of misplaced philanthropy. There are no librarians to catalogue the books and no shelves to stack them on. What the library system really needs is money to rehire its staff and rebuild its libraries. Yet, well-intentioned people continue to send books, only to see them rot and decay in untouched boxes.

Since there’s no shortage of paperback donations winging their way to the Gulf region, Candy and I thought we’d focus on the children’s libraries and reading programs that need help, and specifically, the green paper donations that make a difference directly.

So on the first anniversary of Katrina, we’re issuing the Smart Bitch Reading Challenge: we will match all your donations up to $250.00 US.

You can pick your charity; far be it from us to tell you what to do. Simply send money to a charity of your choice focusing on rebuilding school libraries, local children’s reading programs, or children’s literacy in the Gulf Region. Then all you have to do is email a copy of the receipt (feel free to edit out all your personal information if you don’t want us to have it). We Smart Bitches will match the total amount given by all the Bitchery donors and give that lump sum to UNICEF’s fund to rebuild children’s libraries and educational sites for the US Gulf Region. The deadline for donation submissions is September 30, 2006.

Here’s a list of a few organizations that can help get children’s books back in the Gulf region, and if you have a not-for-profit organization you’d like us to add to the list, please let us know.

Book Relief, A FirstBook Initiative.

The Louisiana Library Associaion Disaster Relief Fund is now accepting monetary donations to assist school, public, and academic library restoration efforts in southern Louisiana.
Please make checks payable to: LLA-Disaster Relief and mail to:
LLA
421 South 4th St
Eunice, LA 70535

The Texas Library Association’s Disaster Relief Fund will donate 100% of the funds sent their way to the library association in the state of your choice.

UNICEF is “soliciting contributions earmarked for children affected by Hurricane Katrina. Working out of Washington, DC, it is coordinating international support for children, their families, and for the restoration of educational settings—schools, libraries, and other places of learning. This is the first time in its 59-year history that the United Nations Children’s Education Fund has been involved in relief efforts in the United States.” (source: School Library Journal)

Darla suggests Donors Choose, where teachers looking for assistance with individual projects can solicit aid from individual donors for specific projects. That page highlights several Gulf-area projects for schools, from writing center supplies to construction projects.

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