How to Participate
Here are the simple steps to sending books from you to us!
(1) Talk to People.
Ask your mom or dad if they would be willing to help you. Maybe they know someone that might be interested in allowing you to put a box out to collect books. Librarians, teachers, after school classes are also great places to speak to adults and see if they would support you. You never know when you will talk to someone who is really excited about this project!
Sometimes I have told librarians about sending books to Puerto Rico and they aren’t even a little bit interested and then I happen to tell a Grandma walking through a park and she gets really excited! I give her the mailing address - and three weeks later her children’s old books arrive to my address. Amazing!
(2) What Do You Tell Them?
- Explain to them that you have some good friends who are living in Puerto Rico. Ask them if they knew that even though Puerto Rico is an American territory filled with American people who serve in the military and pay taxes, that libraries are hard to access? Only a few libraries exist and many were wiped out after Hurricane Maria destroyed the island.
- Your friend and you are organizing little libraries in the NW corner of the island to get books to children.
- We are looking for picture books and chapter books from baby to 6th grade.
- They can be in English and Spanish because most people on the island are bilingual.
- You can also tell them about our website: TresHermanasPR.GitHub.io
- If they seem interested tell them there are two ways to help out
(1) Do they want to donate gently used books? If yes, can you put a mailing box in your class, or library, or parents’ work to collect books? Great - you found a supporter!
(2) If they want to support this project but can’t help with book donations they could donate $20 to ship an entire box book rate to Puerto Rico!
- Also, there is another link on this website titled “Print Out” that has a print out that you can give to people explaining your project. You can use this page when you are speaking to people, or you can attach it to the box that you place out for people, or you can make copies and send it home with your classmates!
(3) Get Some Brown Boxes.
You need boxs to ship your books in. Leftover Amazon boxes can work. Or you can go by a grocery store and see if they have any boxes you can use.
(4) Collect Your Books.
Make sure that they are gently used. Not torn or written on.
(5) Take a Picture.
Let us know you're helping out! Snap a picture with your box of books or with your class that collected them! E-mail me that they are on their way with your picture and a little note about how you had success. I’ll post your success story on my website!
(6) Ship It!
Tape up the box and ship it to our mom. The shipping address is:
Cristine Higgins Arango
544 Calle Crucero Este
Isabela, PR 00662
(7) Then What Happens?
Books will arrive and we will place them in the little libraries that I have built in playgrounds around Aguadilla.