It’s already July! Can you believe that 2018 is already more than halfway complete?
As a 100% volunteer-led organization, the POP Project is entirely dependent on the hard work of our volunteers and the generosity of our local donors to pursue our mission. Not only do we believe you deserve to see what we’ve been up to this year, but we’re excited to share it with you!
Here’s a quick midyear progress report of POP’s activities:
POP Book Deliveries for 2018 (So Far)
Our midyear book delivery numbers are not generally indicative of our impact for the whole year. Some of our biggest delivery days are in the fall, once school begins back and again before the holidays. But here is an update on how many books POP has delivered so far this year.
- 1,023 = Schools and Children’s Programs
- 271 = Local Jails and Detention Centers
- 739 = Community Nonprofits, Housing Centers, and Organizations
- 622 = Little Free Libraries
- 2,655 = TOTAL BOOKS DONATED SO FAR
These numbers represent a different mix than at midyear last year. For instance, our deliveries of children’s books is double what it was in July 2017, our Little Free Libraries figure is almost triple, but our general community deliveries are considerably lower. Even so, we’re at a slightly higher total than we were this time last year. Last year’s midyear total was 2,486.
See how these numbers compare to last year.
What Else POP’s Been up to
In addition to our regular book deliveries, we’ve been staying active in the community in other ways so far this year:
- We volunteered at the Ingles Independence Day Celebration in downtown Asheville on July 4th.
- We began collecting comic books and D&D manuals to enhance our book deliveries.
- This spring, we partnered with the Asheville Fire Department to place two new Little Free Libraries at Station 2 and Station 5.
- Our incoming book donations are staying sorted as they come in, thanks to our wonderful monthly Homeward Books volunteers.
- Volunteers from the Grove Park Inn helped us deliver 3,300 books in one day through United Way’s Days of Impact program.
What’s Next?!
Buy books and ice cream, help the community! Join us at our upcoming Rethink Ink Book Sale Fundraiser from 5:00–8:00pm on Tuesday, August 14 at The Hop Ice Cream Cafe, 640 Merrimon Avenue #103 in North Asheville. Every $1 you spend at Rethink Ink translates to $10 in books delivered to the community.
RSVP on Facebook. And stay tuned to POP for more information and surprises about the event!
It can be hard to stay motivated when fun of summer calls to you just as the glaring heat slows you down. That’s why the POP Project likes to spend our summers channeling the proverbial tortoise: We try to move slowly and steadily toward our annual finish line, being careful not to burn out after quick bursts of speed. As our ultimate finish line is making sure that everyone in Western North Carolina has access to quality books, that’s a long race to run!
We’ll keep you up to speed as we continue to move forward—one step (and book) at a time.