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HPA | AB 2015: BOOK DRIVE GUIDE
ACCI O BO OKS! 20 15 : BOO K DRI VE GUI DE
Whether you are a hosting your very first book drive or this is your fifth, we hope you’ll find this guide helpful in making
your book drive a success. This guide includes advice for publicizing your book drive, some pointers on the nuts and bolts
of collecting books, and links to some additional resources with even more details.
WHY HOST A BOOK DRIVE?
• It’s a great, easy way to promote literacy
• Book drives are highly visible projects in schools or communities
• Few start-up costs - this is a great project for both new and well-established chapters!
• It’s a fantastic way to illustrate the idea and mission of the Harry Potter Alliance by linking the books with the
idea and concept of social action!
• It’s also a great way to promote and publicize your chapter within your own community and potentially recruit
some new members.
• You can learn about the history of Accio Books on the HPA website.
BEFORE YOU GET STARTED:
Before you launch into the nuts and bolts of running and developing a book drive, you and your chapter should discuss
what involvement you want to have in the book drive and what activities other than collecting books you want to
participate in. There are several ways to participate in Accio Books that enhance the book drive experience! They
include partnerships and community service activities that promote literacy!
T H E H PA L L I A N C E. O R G
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HPA | AB 2015: BOOK DRIVE GUIDE
We strongly encourage chapters to contact local groups and work with them to make an even larger impact on their
Accio Books campaign this year! Chapters can also look for local Nerdfighter groups in their area and other fandom
groups who may be interested in helping!
MAKING PARTNERSHIPS:
1.
Contact the group/organization you are interested in working with. Introduce yourself, your chapter, and talk a
little bit about why you want to partner with them and what you each can give to make this campaign a success.
Partnerships are supposed to be mutually beneficial; both sides should be benefiting in some way from
partnering with the other.
2.
If they are interested in partnering for the book drive, you both should make clear expectations of what you
want to happen from the beginning. This helps to avoid confusion later on! Here are some possible questions to
ask and discuss with your chapter and the group?
• How will the group be helping you? What can they do?
• Will they be donating books and hosting their own events? Participating in your events for Accio Books?
Will they promote you on their social media outlets?
• How will you include them?
These questions are all important to ask so that everyone knows where everyone stands! Be ready to take a
leadership role in these partnerships. This is the sixth HPA Accio Books campaign and the other groups you are
working with may not have as much experience with book drives, so be ready to help them out and provide
support where needed.
In addition to partnerships, chapters can go into their communities and perform activities that promote literacy in
addition to just collecting books. Think of possible activities such as reading to the elderly or starting a reading group
at the library! You and your chapter could possibly volunteer at a school to tutor or read. Accio Books is all about
promoting literacy and education, so be creative and think of ways that you can give back to your community with this
theme in mind! Remember that donating books is just the beginning, and that you can positively impact your community
and others around you with really unique actions! If you’re unsure of what kind of action to take, be sure to check out
our Special Activities resource for things you can do! Don’t forget to submit a recap of your activities to the HPA
Chapters Tumblr.
T H E H PA L L I A N C E. O R G
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HPA | AB 2015: BOOK DRIVE GUIDE
THE NUTS AND BOLTS:
Finding a Donation Site
This may be the most difficult part of your whole book drive. If you end up collecting a lot of books (fingers crossed), it’s
not economical nor is it practical to mail them to our partners. Instead, we encourage chapters to identify a book
recipient within their own communities. We’ve put together a guide for finding a donation site in your area.
It is helpful - but not essential - for you to identify your donation site before your book drive starts. But if it takes you a
few weeks, that’s totally fine. Just have an awesome book drive and eventually you will find the perfect home for those
books (hopefully by June 2nd so your books can be counted toward the Chapter Cup).
If you’ve identified a donation recipient before your book drive starts, it can be helpful to ask what types of books they
are in need of. Then you can add some focus to your book drive. Most donation sites will have a website, email address,
or phone number and you can contact them to find out exactly what they are looking for.
The HPA will be working with partner organizations for an Apparating Library in their community. More details on the
HPA official partner(s) will be released closer to the campaign.
Once you decide where you are sending your books and know what that group is looking for, you can start planning
your book drive in more detail and promote the organization you will be donating too!
1. CONTACT THE ORGANIZATION
The organization’s website often has an online form to fill out, or an email contact. Generally, they ask for an event
coordinator to keep in contact with while the book drive is being set up. Remember: they want your book drive to be
successful! Don’t be afraid to ask them questions or ask for help if you need it.
2. DECIDE ON A TIMELINE:
Accio Books will be running April 2 - June 2, 2015. Where and when you run
your book drive within this timeframe is up to you! If you’ve run a book drive since
last year’s Accio Books, you can count it toward this year’s! Also, if you host a
book drive after this year’s Accio Books, you can count it toward the following
year’s Chapter Cup.
3. PUBLICIZE! PUBLICIZE! PUBLICIZE!
• Posters, flyers, email notices, PA announcements, teacher
announcements and newspaper articles! (you can find templates for
posters on the Chapters resource site!)
• Making an event on a social networking site, such as Facebook. Use
Twitter, Tumblr and any other social networking platforms that your
chapter uses. If you are partnering with another group, be sure to ask
them to promote the drive on their outlets!
T H E H PA L L I A N C E. O R G
Tip: For a community chapter, a
longer book drive would be more
helpful, but for a school- based
chapter, a shorter book drive keeps
it simple.
Why is that? In a community,
people may visit their local library
(a possible donation location) once
a week. That gives them a week to
read the sign, and then another
week to bring their donation and
spread the word. In schools,
students and teachers are there
every day, and if they sit too long,
your donation boxes will become a
familiar sight and get “old”.
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HPA | AB 2015: BOOK DRIVE GUIDE
• School-based chapters can ask for a notice to be placed on the school website or in the monthly newsletter or
on the morning announcements (prior to the event being held). University chapters can also use email listservs
to post announcements!
• Community chapters - ask your local library or community center to place a notice on their website or email list.
• Make it a contest! If you’re in a middle or high school... have teachers collect the books. The classroom with the
biggest donation gets a pizza party (or other prize)! Have a grade-wide competition. Label each box with a
different grade and the one with the most donations gets a prize.
• If you’re in a college or university, the same competition can be made for the different dorms on campus, or
alternatively, different floors within a dorm building.
• If you’re in a community, split up into groups. Create names for your groups, and whichever one collects the most
books wins. Turn it into a miniature version of the House Cup within your chapter. Each group is responsible for
the location of their boxes, collection of donations, and advertising.
4. COLLECT MATERIALS
For basic materials, you will need:
• Cardboard boxes to collect books (clearly labeled and placed in a visible location)
• More boxes if mailing books to the organization.
• Jar or envelope for monetary donations (to send to organizations or help with shipping)
• Notebook for an inventory of books received/event notes
• Optional: Colored paper, paint, or markers to decorate your boxes
5. HOST THE BOOK DRIVE!
Make sure your collection points are easily visible and in strategic locations. Possible locations:
• Community centers
• School cafeteria
• Classrooms
• Administrative offices
• A booth/table at a local fair/wrock concert
• Host an event on campus/in the community and ask for donations as the admission fee! This could be a movie
screening or something else! Be creative! Remember: you can leave a box or money jar and collect the contents
daily or at the end of each week, but if you have time to sit at a table and personally collect donations, it’s always
helpful! That way you can talk to people, answer questions, and encourage them to make a donation.
T H E H PA L L I A N C E. O R G
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HPA | AB 2015: BOOK DRIVE GUIDE
6. SORT THE BOOKS
You can do this as you receive them or at the very end. Usually, organizations ask you to sort them by grade-level but
check with your book recipient to see what they prefer. Then mail them or have them dropped off at the designated
location!
7. IF YOU ARE MAILING BOOKS, BE SURE TO SEND THEM BY “MEDIA MAIL” THROUGH THE US
POSTAL.
This is discounted rate used for mailing books and magazines and will save tons of money on your shipping expenses.
This is not usually an issue if your donation site it local! Shipping woes? You can either ask for donations as well as books
(one suggestion: ask for 50 cents or a dollar from each donor to help cover costs). Also consider holding a fundraiser
event during the Accio Books! campaign. The funds collected will be useful if your chapter is thinking of shipping the
books gathered. See our fundraising tips resource for some ideas!
If you are not an USA-based chapter, research the costs of mailing books in your postal service website (the values vary
depending on the location you’re sending them to and the country you are in).
8. MAKE YOUR RESULTS KNOWN!
Everyone likes to know how an event turned out. Sure sure to let your local media know how successful you were. Follow
up your campaign with posts on your social media and in local or school newspapers, on your school website, in
newsletters, etc. Thank everyone who was involved for their dedication and time commitment. If you want, throw a party
to celebrate! Also, make sure to report your results to the HPA so you can participate in the Chapter Cup! There will be
a special reporting form you can use! And be sure to send pictures and descriptions of your IRL events to
[email protected] or submit them to the HPA Chapters Tumblr! Don’t forget to tag all your social media posts
with the hashtag #hpachapters.
T H E H PA L L I A N C E. O R G