stephanier.1765 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Final update: Thanks everyone, we have a taker! I can't tell you how happy my heart feels to hand these things on to fellow homeschoolers. Updated: my son and I have started moving the boxes to our storage unit. Ow, my poor back. :) So if anyone in the Jacksonville, FL area is interested in a bunch of free books, homeschool books and hands on supplies let me know. I really want to make a good effort of getting these things in the hands of homeschoolers but if not I'll start going through all the great ideas posted below. Our homeschool days are coming to an end so I'm spring cleaning my bookshelves and donating nearly every book I've collected of the last 12 years. So where would you donate your library? Goodwill, library system, the local school library? We've been out of touch with the homeschool community for the last several years or I would donate to a local group but I no longer know who that would be. And since I want to do this as a bulk donation instead of separating into grades (or whatnot) it's probably easier to donate to a bigger organization anyway. So WWYD? PS. I'm not interested in selling because I have neither the time nor the patience to do so. ETA: please see posts #34 and #41 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLMom Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I would donate to a school. A lot of poor or private schools are in need of donated books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 A private school would be the most likely to take them. As an alternative, if you know anyone who is fundraising (I almost always know someone who is going on a mission trip) you may see if they are interested in taking the books to sell online or to do a book sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I am like you - I have neither the time nor patience to sell my used books. I also am an introvert and don't know many people IRL to give the books to. So, I donate all my gently used books to my local public library. They have a bin for this purpose and they accept all good quality books. There is a periodic fundraiser there where they sell all these books to raise money. They also put the almost new and good books into circulation. So, i suggest that you contact your public library and see what program they have for used books. The local women's shelters take books for elementary aged kids. But, I am guessing that your books are for highschoolers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I had to dispose of my parents' library after their deaths. We donated the books (after my sisters and I and all our kids chose books to keep) to the Friends of the Library group for a local library. They hold a huge used book sale every year to support their library branch. The group has a retired gentleman who picks up all donated books and takes them to their (donated) storage facility where other volunteers sort by genre etc. He gave me a receipt for taxes----along with valuation guidelines ($X for hardcover nonfiction, $Y for trade-size paperbacks, etc). We donated 1500 books. Easy peasy lemon squeezie :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Absolute easiest thing will be the library or goodwill. Both will be happy to have them and put the proceeds toward their causes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto10blessings Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I would get in touch with a local group (can't be that hard!) and hold a free yard sale. Friday 1-2. Everything must go. Whatever is not taken I would bring to the library or goodwill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Library, especially if they do used book sales as fundraisers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linders Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Public library, for their own collection or to raise money. Ours is really hurting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 In Michigan if you donate to a public library you get a nice % of the value of the books off your state income tax. That might be worth looking into. Another option would be to post on your local community facebook page and see if you could connect with another homeschooler. While I am a MAJOR reader when we moved and stopped homeschooling I got rid of a lot of our fiction books. I kept reference books, a few favorite kids book for foster kids/visiting kids, and a few personal favorites. The rest I donated. I have not regretted it for a moment. We live in an area with great libraries and I have a kindle so I can get classics for free and most of the other books at the library. It seemed weird but was so freeing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 If a lot of your stuff is specifically educational (as opposed to paperback novels that your kids might have read along the way), I would ask the library for the name of a local homeschooler, and I would contact that person and see if she/he would distribute the books. If someone told me they had a lot of homeschool materials, I'd happily take the collection and pass it along to the rest of my local group. I'm thinking that stuff like, say, Singapore Math textbooks, might not really be appreciated by the public library, and it might just get tossed, but it would be a blessing to our local group members. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashfern Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Our local library has home school resources so I would donate to my local library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Better World Books also takes donations. They have some guidelines and will provide you with a free shipping label. http://www.betterworldbooks.com/go/donatebooks In addition, I'm one of those people who loved finding a deal at Goodwill. It has been truly helpful to our budget over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saraswati Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Do you have a Children's hospital close by? They may appreciate books for long term stay wings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Library or Goodwill. Or offer them on freecycle - a homeschooler would probably take them. I tend to freecycle our books and curriculum, but we have a dependable freecycle group here, so I know they'll pick up on time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanne Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Due to my own lived experience, my personal preference would be to donate to a local homeschooling family who is struggling and allow them to sell what they can. How to go about that varies by region. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entropymama Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I would say library except that ours has a habit of selling the good ones and buying crap to put on their shelves. I've found dozens of great books in good condition for a quarter, and all the new stuff on the shelves is the equivalent of Twilight. Good for me, I guess. My personal library is growing very cheaply. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Due to my own lived experience, my personal preference would be to donate to a local homeschooling family who is struggling and allow them to sell what they can. How to go about that varies by region. :iagree: Great idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upward Journey Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Well depending on where you are, you might consider donating them to The Book Samaritan, located in Pawhuska, OK. They will then distribute them, free of charge, to homeschool families that need them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I had a local family owned homeschool store. They took donations for needy families they would sponsor. I'm part of a homeschool group and just gave a few boxes of textbooks to them. I don't know if they are holding onto them to sell, or if they gave other members a chance to take them. I give everything else to Goodwill or other charity organization. There are a couple of charities that come to my door. Definitely the easy way out. I would have never thought to donate to the library. It's worth a shot to call them and ask. Maybe they'll only want certain types of books, and you can give the rest to Goodwill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indigomama Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 1. As a homeschooler on a budget, receiving these would be my dream come true, so I vote donating to someone local who is homeschooling. 2. Donate to a library. I LOVE finding books I need to schooling at the library sales. 3. Donate to a thrift store. There is one by me, where I have found so many books on my needs/wants list. I wish I knew who was donating so I could thank them:) 4. The Book Samaritan. I have not had to use them, but it sounds like they do fantastic work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susann Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Be very careful about donating to your local library. I recently left a job I loved at our library because I was tired of deleting itmes that were going to the dumpsters. We deleted over 50,000 items the first two years with our new director. While I agree that the Top 100 Plays of 1919-1920 needed to go much more of what was pitched was in great condition and someone (me) would have loved to have. We were also told to tell patrons that the Friends of the Library bookstore sold what came off the shelves-NOT!!! I watched cart after cart after cart go to the dumpsters for two years!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I would give to a local HS family as a top choice. I think it would be a phone call or two to find someone who will appreciate the books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Are there WTM boardies who live in your area who might benefit from your books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahW Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 You can sell them en masse to Exodus Books: http://www.exodusbooks.com/used-books.aspx and they'll sell them to homes that desire them. You can list them on Paperbackswap and send them to homes that desire them. You can send them to the Book Samaritan, who will send them to homes that desire them. You can post on Craigslist "$5 takes them all!!" Goodwill is a bit of a scam these days, just like some Library sales - anything good they'll keep and sell 3P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'smom Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Be very careful about donating to your local library. I recently left a job I loved at our library because I was tired of deleting itmes that were going to the dumpsters. We deleted over 50,000 items the first two years with our new director. While I agree that the Top 100 Plays of 1919-1920 needed to go much more of what was pitched was in great condition and someone (me) would have loved to have. We were also told to tell patrons that the Friends of the Library bookstore sold what came off the shelves-NOT!!! I watched cart after cart after cart go to the dumpsters for two years!! I have worked at libraries in 2 different states and this was not the case there. One of the libraries did have some regulation about putting donations of books on the library shelves, but that library had a book sale room open all the time. They sold all donations and discards. (Though they probably did dump them if they didn't sell after a certain amount of time.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AimeeM Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Do you have a children's home in your area? I know we do and they are always in need of things to help perk the children up (this particular home takes children directly from a bio situation when medical or psychological care is necessary before foster family placement can be considered). Also, any low income tutoring centers in the area - I know that we have one here, so you should check around. Battered women's shelters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8circles Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Goodwill is a bit of a scam these days, just like some Library sales - anything good they'll keep and sell 3P. This is totally dependent on your area. Each region is run independently. I don't know what "3P" means but there are some Goodwills that sell more valuable things on ebay (or some other auction site). Even so, they don't exist as a charity shop, they exist to fund their training programs which help get people with disabilities employed. If you believe in their mission, then them making more money off your items wouldn't be a bad thing. If you don't believe in their mission, don't donate to them at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanier.1765 Posted February 26, 2014 Author Share Posted February 26, 2014 Wow, so many great ideas! I definitely came to the right place for advice. Ideally, I'd like to see them go to homeschoolers since they are the ones who would probably benefit the most from them. We have a local homeschool store but it's an hour from me so I'd like to skip that option if I can. So if there is a homeschooler in Jacksonville, FL (I'm in the Argyle area), you are more than welcome to them. The books range from elementary thru high school. You can keep them, sell them or give them away...it's all good with me. Just a heads up: 1) there is also a mixture of our "for fun" reading in the boxes which means there will be plenty of fantasy included (my son is a big fan), 2) the condition ranges from well used to brand new and 3) these boxes are big and heavy so you will probably need a truck or a van because I don't think they will fit in a car. But if you are willing to try, I'm willing to give you a hand and to throw in some teenage boy muscle as well. :) If no local homeschoolers are available, then I'll start working through this wonderful list of ideas. I'll probably pull out the ones in brand new condition to see if the children's hospital wants them, and then decide on what to do with the rest. Thanks for all the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Due to my own lived experience, my personal preference would be to donate to a local homeschooling family who is struggling and allow them to sell what they can. How to go about that varies by region. This is what I'm doing with all my homeschool library. I told the family they can use, share or sell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodhaven Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 My guess is that the library want most of your books. I'd do a quick online search for a local home school support group, contact them and ask if they would want boxes of books/curriculum. My own church has a library for home school families to use. People donate books and they are organized and lent out to church families or to families from the support group that meets there. You could probably find a home school group near you who would jump at the chance to get those books! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Do you have a local community center that provides after-school care for low-income children? Sometimes you can find them in government housing neighborhoods. Maybe a Big Brother/Big Sister organization? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isabella Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Maybe start a separate thread saying free books in the Jacksonville, FL area. It will attract the attention of any that live in your area and are interested in the school books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I'm curious whether you got a response to your offer - and how soon after you posted - the board is huge, so I'm sure your post was seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanier.1765 Posted February 27, 2014 Author Share Posted February 27, 2014 I'm curious whether you got a response to your offer - and how soon after you posted - the board is huge, so I'm sure your post was seen. Nope, no offer as yet. But if a homeschooler can be found, they can have everything I own that is homeschool related. Science supplies including 2 microscopes (one is just a K12 student microscope though), beakers, test tubes, chemicals as well as though supplies from The Rainbow and The Spectrum Chemistry. I have 7 Science in a Nutshell, several Knex learning series, and Snap Circuits. There are Geopuzzles, Story of the World in book and CD, Great Courses,Tapestry and Sonlight. Unfortunately some of these things I have already thrown away because I knew Goodwill or the library wouldn't be interested but a homeschooler is more than welcome to anything I still have even down to the regular ol' school supplies that I stocked up on while they were on sale. :001_rolleyes: Honestly, any homeschooler will be doing me the favor by taking these things because otherwise it all would have ended up in the garbage.That would have really hurt my heart. Please make a retiring homeschooler very happy by letting me pass these things down to you. I can meet anyone at the Argyle Library or the Oakleaf Town Center. If there isn't anybody close and someone is willing to make a drive, both of these places are easily reached from 295 or a little more complicated from 10. See post #34 as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Its a pity you're not near a Books for the World depot - the Rotary has a program whereby they ship books to Africa where they are distributed to schools. Its an amazing project and 1000's of children, including homeschoolers,have benefitted . Just putting it out there for people who may want to do the same as you. Their primary collection point is in the Houston area, but they also have secondary collection points at Marietta, Georgia; Madison, Wisconsin; Dixon, California; Dallas, Beaumont, and Abilene, Texas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I can meet anyone at the Argyle Library or the Oakleaf Town Center. If there isn't anybody close and someone is willing to make a drive, both of these places are easily reached from 295 or a little more complicated from 10. See post #34 as well. Hey there, I know someone who homeschools in the Jacksonville area. They wouldn't need the materials themselves, I don't think, but they may know someone who could use them. If you'd like me to put you in touch with them, just PM me and I'll do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I really hope someone in your area takes you up on this offer! If I weren't all the way up in PA, I would totally take it all and distribute it in my local area. It sounds like an amazing blessing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I wished I lived near you. Anyone in DFW, particularly north of Dallas getting rid of a library? (Imagine big puppy dog eyes) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brehon Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Gracious! If I weren't several states west of you, I'd meet you and take them off your hands!, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Hi Stephanie, I sent a PM, (I hope.) I'm in Gainesville, but our homeschool co-op would love to acquire your boxes of homeschool curricula. I could drive over anytime this weekend. Thanks! ~Melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 As this is where I found out about Stephanie's wonderful offer, I hope you all will allow me a quick update as well. :) Thank you!! Thank you!! Thank you!! What a generous donation. I have just begun to sift through all the incredible boxes. But this is better than Christmas, as only fellow WTM homeschoolers could understand - it is like the best Christmas ever. I've never seen so much curricula listed in the WTM all at one time. And in such lovely condition, too!! Our co-op has already set the spring classes, but I think we need to add another science class just to dig into all the great science kits early and introduce the kids to all the incredible new science equipment. And I am going to discuss with the co-op leaders the idea of setting up a local homeschool lending library. There is just so much here that could benefit so many families. Stephanie, I will speak on behalf of our entire co-op and say that we are very grateful to have received such an incredible blessing. We will do our best to support as many families as possible through your generosity. ~Melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanier.1765 Posted March 10, 2014 Author Share Posted March 10, 2014 Melissa, What a great update. I am just honestly happy that others can make use of what we no longer need. I love the idea of the lending library! What a great way for lots of people to make use of the books. You all are more than welcome but please remember that you did me a big favor as well. By making that long drive and letting me pass these things along to you, I won't feel the guilt of having thrown all the homeschool stuff away. You can't imagine the weight I could feel lift off my shoulders as we drove away from the storage facility. So thank you very, very much! Happy homeschooling! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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