AYM Helps POP Deliver $2,400 in Books

This summer, the POP Project paired up with Asheville Youth Mission to coordinate three group volunteer days. Asheville Youth Mission facilitates creative ministry opportunities for young people. Their summer programs offer broad-based experiences across different settings in the Asheville area. Thanks to those groups, organizations around Asheville have received more than $2,400 in books at no charge to them.

On July 1, POP Director Jim MacKenzie met a small group of four at our outdoor storage units in West Asheville. The group worked very hard to sort and prepare a half dozen boxes of books. The volunteers then delivered the books to Haywood Street Congregation in downtown Asheville. The church holds a free lunch every Wednesday for people in need and houses a library in their fellowship hall.

Unfortunately, the second AYM volunteer day was rained out. Since our resources are open to the elements, that is a situation that sadly we have to deal with often.

Our third volunteer day of the season was on August 4. Jim met a large group of 10 at our storage units. There, the volunteers sorted and prepared books for two locations. They then delivered them to the VA center and A-HOPE Day Center, a branch of Homeward Bound of Asheville.

Volunteers tailored the deliveries to the unique needs of each location. The VA center works with many veterans with lung issues, so books that may have been damaged by fire, smoke, water, and mildew had to be sorted out of the mix. Many of A-HOPE’s clients do not have permanent addresses, and thus are not able to apply for a local library card. POP’s books offer them an opportunity to both read and collect books of their own.

Even with one cancelled volunteer day, AYM’s volunteers helped POP deliver more than $2,400 books free of charge back into the community. As a 100% volunteer-led organization, our mission is contingent on great volunteers who can help us sort, prepare, and deliver books to people in need.

Check out a few photos from the August 4 volunteer session, taken by one of AYM’s wonderful volunteers. Then, learn more about how to help POP organize or execute future book deliveries.