Archive

August 2010: Writing competition "unknown(s)" has started!

Writing under a sunny sky? Travelling to far-away places or travelling through your own ideas? Join in with the creative writing competition organised by Books 4 Life Amsterdam in cooperation with the JoHo travel centre. Write a short story, approximately 1500 words, with the theme "unknown(s)" [onbekend(en)]. Let your imagination run wild.

The stories will be judged by, among others, writer Marieke Groen and poet Krijn Peter Hesselink. The prize ceremony is on 25 September 2010 in the Books 4 Life shop in Amsterdam centre (Taksteeg 8). Send your story before 5 september to books4life.amsterdam@gmail.com and you may be among the winners!


July 2010: Customers in Eindhoven help decide how money is spent

Books 4 Life Eindhoven has been open for almost a year and the shop has already sold many hundreds of donated second-hand books. In accordance with the Books 4 Life formula, at least 90% of the money raised goes to charity. Customers can help decide how these charity donations are spent. Half of the money collected goes to Amnesty International and Oxfam Novib. The other half goes to small-scale projects that support human rights and poverty reduction. In the shop in Eindhoven in th Outlet of the Central Library, you will find a ballot box in which you can place your vote for your favourite of the proposed charity projects: Bondo Kids, Compassion, Prithipura Third World Activities and Vredesburo Eindhoven. Come by the shop for more information.


July 2010: "Bookynight" Utrecht a great success

Books, music and big presents, that's how Books 4 Life Utrecht celebrated her first birthday on 17 June. The shop received no presents but did give away great gifts. Half of the money raised from book sales during the year was donated to the Sao Sary Foundation. To be more precise: 2588 euros will go towards stopping child abuse in Cambodia. The other half of the money raised will be donated, according to the Books 4 Life formula, to Amnesty International and Oxfam Novib.

The evening was opened with African drums before the board handed over the official check to the Sao Sary Foundation. Volunteers and customers of Books 4 Life Utrecht could vote for which of two projects the money should go to. The battle was between the Sao Sary Foundation and Stichting Wanawa Kenya. With a small majority of the votes, the Sao Sary Foundation has secured support from Books 4 Life Utrecht for its work in the coming years.


June 2010: Shop in Graz wins 5th prize in Social Impact Award

The youngest Books 4 Life shop has already been awarded a prize! The shop joined in with the Social Impact Awards 2010 in Austria. This competition shines a spotlight on student initiatives with a "social impact". A total of 63 projects participated and Books 4 Life achieved 5th place - an amazing accomplishment that the volunteers in Graz can be very proud of. Their prize: a free 3-month membership to the HUB in Vienna. So, if there are students in Vienna who are interested in helping to expand Books 4 Life Austria, this is a unique opportunity to get both support and inspiration. If you are interested, please contact Books 4 Life Graz via the website.




June 2010: Books 4 Life Utrecht celebrates its birthday this month!

Books 4 Life Utrecht is 1 year old this month! That deserves a celebration, so we are holding a party and you are invited! Join us in blowing out the first candle on the cake and raising a glass to the Utrecht shop's successful first year. On the same evening, we will be announcing which small-scale charity project will be supported by Books 4 Life Utrecht, Wanawa or Sao Sary, and how much money will be donated this year. You can still vote for your favourite when you visit the shop until 16 June.

Our birthday celebration will be a fun evening with live music, a free welcome drink and home-made snacks. Come along to the party on Thursday 17 June from 20.00!! For more information, check out the website of Books 4 Life Utrecht.


May 2010: Eindhoven launches beautiful new website

This week, Books 4 Life Eindhoven has launched a beautiful new website - not only very attractive to look at but also full of all the information you need about the shop in this city. You can also find information about vacancies with Books 4 Life Eindhoven. We are still looking for extra people to help out the board and the volunteer team. In particular, we would very much like some assistance with our marketing / PR. Click here to admire the new website!


April 2010: Books 4 Life goes international!

This is an exciting time for Books 4 Life. We have just passed our 5-year anniversary. We have grown from 1 shop to 6 in the last year. Our 7th shop will be opening later this month, marking the growth of Books 4 Life beyond the Dutch borders with the establishment of a shop in Austria. A newly established PR team is getting to work to organise and coordinate national events and support all of our shops with their advertising and outreach activities. And we have very nearly raised 50,000 euros for charity.

After having written a business plan and having convinced the University’s principals to support the idea of a charitable bookshop (by, e.g., providing a room, furniture, etc.), we hope to start Books 4 Life Graz this spring. We are currently settling into our newly renovated sales room and preparing our kick-off event to call the best possible attention to our project. As supporters from throughout the university are joining Books 4 Life Graz every week by now, we are confident to have a good start and a successful future of Books 4 Life Graz.

You can find further (unfortunately German-language) information about us, the initiators Stefan Palan, Christian Schitter and Claudia Winkler by clicking on the link. Our own website, www.books4life.at, is now also online. If you have any questions, ideas or cheers, live in Graz, visit Graz or just want to get more information, do not hesitate to contact us via info@books4life.at.

January 2010: New shop open in Amsterdam from 12 January!

From the 12th of January, you will also find a Books 4 Life shop in Amsterdam. The shop is housed in the JoHo Center Amsterdam at Taksteeg 8 (side-street of the Kalverstraat, on a level with the Spui, ground floor). Books 4 Life is thrilled with this central location and very pleased to be further expanding its collaboration with JoHo. The opening festivities are planned for the 12th of January from 13.00 in the new shop. Everyone is very welcome to come along. There will be an auction of a number of special books, including a signed copy of De Weduwnaar by Kluun. For more information about the new shop in Amsterdam and how you can help out, click here.


December 2009: Record amount raised for charity in Tilburg!

The Books 4 Life shop in Tilburg has announced record profits for 2009. On the 10th of December, on the occasion of World Human Rights Day, Véronique Verhagen (chairwoman of the shop) announced that the total amount to be donated to charity this year is 10,400 euros. This is the biggest annual profit made since the shop - the first Books 4 Life shop in Holland - opened its doors in February 2005. The continuing growth in book sales in Tilburg offers a great example to the other four shops that have just opened this year - in the future they can hopefully expect to see a similar increase in customers and profits. This achievement also demonstrates just how hard the board and volunteers in Tilburg have been working to really put the shop on the map in the city. We would therefore like to congratulate them with this fabulous news!


December 2009: Join us in 2010 - Board of Books 4 Life Eindhoven looking for new members

Have you been inspired by the concept of Books 4 Life? Are you looking for a new hobby for 2010? Do you have organisational, creative or management skills and would you like to use them to help a good cause? Now is your chance! Our friendly team in Eindhoven is looking for more support. This is a great opportunity to get to know new people and to work as part of a close team to make Books 4 Life an even greater success. Apply for one of the open positions on the board: Click here for more information about the jobs available. Interested? Contact the Eindhoven group directly books4life.eindhoven@gmail.com.


November 2009: Books 4 Life Groningen has moved

After weeks of waiting, it has finally happened: Books 4 Life Groningen has moved. On Monday the 26th of October, we joined JoHo in moving to a new building at Oude Kijk in ’t Jatstraat, number 30. Some work still needs doing in the building, but once this is complete, we will create a fabulous Books 4 Life shop! The rennovations will be finished in January and then we can start business in earnest. The date of the official opening will be posted on the website as soon as possible.

October also saw a very successful book collection effort in cooperation with De Kinderboekwinkel in Groningen. They placed a bookshelf in their window where customers and staff could put their book donations. The whole window was brightly decorated, including with the Books 4 Life logo. We are very pleased at the number of books donated and the publicity created by this activity. We would like to say another big thank you to the people of De Kinderboekwinkel and in particular Debbie Donker, for all their support!

Of course we could always use more books and volunteers for our shop. So if you still have some books lying around the house or you are interested in joining our team, why not get in touch via books4lifegroningen@gmail.com or come by the shop! You are also welcome to just come and take a look at the shop at Oude Kijk in ’t Jatstraat 30 in Groningen. If you are looking for some presents for Sinterklaas or Christmas, or just want to treat yourself to a new book, we are happy to help you pick something out and when you buy from us, your money goes to charity. We look forward to seeing you in the shop!

October 2009: Search is on for a partner in Rotterdam

In September, two representatives of Books 4 Life Nederland visited Rotterdam. There they spent a very enjoyable evening with an enthusiastic group of locals. They presented the Books 4 Life concept and answered all of the questions that were raised about how you go about setting up your own Books 4 Life shop. Filled with inspiration, the locals formed their own work-group and have since already met twice to discuss the plans for Books 4 Life Rotterdam in more detail. Now the search is on for a partner, a partner who is willing to offer space for the new shop and thereby pledge their support for the core values of Books 4 Life. Do you want to help? Or do you have a good tip for the Rotterdam group? Contact them via books4life.rotterdam@gmail.com


October 2009: Sadly no prize, but still a great time at the Idealendag

Books 4 Life was chosen as a finalist in the Trouw Idealenwedstrijd, so of course we sent a big delegation to the Idealendag on the 10th of October to find out if we had won a prize. Sadly two other projects were selected by the jury as being that little bit more worthy of a prize. But all was not lost, we still had a very enjoyable and useful day. The twelve of us worked hard, networking and gaining advice about all sorts of things, from PR to finances and from organisational structure to internet book sales. We would like to thank Trouw for the opportunity to join in with this fantastic competition and Greenwish for the incredible support in compiling our project plan. We have learned a lot and will be setting to work enthusiastically, as always, to make the most of all of the new opportunities that now present themselves!


September 2009: Books 4 Life plans to set up National Support Centre

Books 4 Life has grown incredibly quickly in 2009: from one shop to five shops in just six months. We are very proud of this achievement, but the growth has also brought a lot of extra work along with it. We want to continue to give all of the Books 4 Life shops all of the support that they need and we want to capitalise on the opportunity to push forward and open yet more shops now that Books 4 Life is grabbing lots of attention across the country. However, we cannot do all of this with just a small, national board. This is why we have decided to set up a National Support Centre (NSC) that will also be run by volunteers. On the 21st of September we held a first meeting to brainstorm ideas for the NSC. Now a specially established workgroup will be looking for a partner that is willing to offer the NSC some office space. Do you have any helpful suggestions for a suitable partner in Utrecht? Contact us via info@books4life.nl - also if you would like to join the workgroup and help us set up the NSC.

September 2009: Opening Books 4 Life Eindhoven a big success, 531 euros raised with sale and auction of books!
The opening of Books 4 Life Eindhoven - the 5th Books 4 Life shop in Holland - was celebrated on the 9th of September, the Day of Sustainability. The volunteers had organised both a children's afternoon and an official opening programme. Both were a great success. The children enjoyed the story that was read to them and they were thrilled to spend the afternoon with PSV Mascot Phoxy. We sold lots of children's books including a number of signed books donated especially to Books 4 Life for its grand opening.
The official opening programme was attended by lots of volunteers, friends and family, partnerorganisations and other people who were interested in the new shop. After cutting the ribbon and giving everyone a chance to browse the shop, the festivities continued in the library café. Library director, Thijs Torreman, led the auction of signed books that had been donated by Dutch celebrities. He did this with real passion and was able to get the audience so enthusiastic enough that the bids got higher and higher. In the end, the book auctions and regular book sales raised a total of 531 euros. And with this, Books 4 Life can already be proud of the sum it has raised for charity! Come and see the new Books 4 Life shop for yourself in the Eindhoven Library, Witte Dame, Emmasingel 22. CLICK HERE to watch a short film about the opening made by Eindhoven TV.

August 2009: Books 4 Life Amsterdam work-group established

On the 6th of August, we visited Amsterdam in an effort to recruit volunteers who would like to establish their own Books 4 Life shop. The information meeting was a big success: all four people who came along were immediately enthusiastic and decided to get to work straight away to find a suitable location for the new shop. Do you have any tips and suggestions about potential shop locations, sources of start-up funding, people to contact, etc? Please contact the Books 4 Life Amsterdam work-group (also if you want to help out with setting up the shop). Send them an email at books4life.amsterdam@gmail.com.


July 2009: Books 4 Life Eindhoven to open in September

Books 4 Life Eindhoven will soon be a fact, thanks to an agreement to cooperate with the Eindhoven library. The library has agreed to offer us space to sell our second-hand books in their central location, in the Witte Dame - initially on a trial basis but we of course hope that this will develop into a mutually-beneficial, long term cooperation. We have also recruited a large and enthusiastic team of volunteers who are keen to make a start on this project. This means that we can now start putting our plans into action and that we have decided on a date for the grand opening. The official opening ceremony will be on the 9th of September (exact time and details to follow soon), the "Day of Sustainability". A special preview of the shop is planned for Sunday the 6th of September during the opening of the new cultural year, Hallo Cultuur, in the library. In the meantime, click here to read an article all about Books 4 Life Eindhoven in the Eindhovens Dagblad.


July 2009: Books 4 Life in the final of Trouw ideals competition

We are in the final-5 for the Trouw Idealenwedstrijd. We now have three months to work on a plan of what we would do if we won the competition (what to do with the money and in which areas we would like further professional advice). We will get some professional coaching from Greenwish to help us develop this plan, which is fantastic news as we would welcome all ideas and tips. On the 10th of October, the two 'winning' projects will be announced (1st prize: 7500 euros; 2nd prize: 4000 euros) during the Idealendag. Click here to visit the Trouw website and find out more about this competition.


July 2009: Books 4 Life on Mambapoint.tv

A special film, calling on people to donate books to our shop, has been created for Books 4 Life and posted on Mambapoint.tv. The piece was filmed on the opening day of Books 4 Life Utrecht and gives a good impression of the shop there. We plan to make a series of promotional films ourselves over the coming months, including some video-portraits of volunteers who work for Books 4 Life. For now, take a look at the Mambapoint film:




June 2009: Books 4 Life Groningen now open!

It may be small, but we are very proud of our newest Books 4 Life shop. It is housed in the JoHo Center at Nieuwe Boteringenstraat 20 in Groningen. The JoHo Center itself is not all that big, so we are very pleased that we have been offered a corner to place a few shelves and offer some books and information about Books 4 Life. JoHo will be moving to a new and bigger shop later this year and we will be joining them in this new location, expanding our book selection at the same time. So, you can already find some great, and affordable second hand books at Books 4 Life Groningen and once we have settled in after the move, we will be holding a proper "grand opening".


June 2009: Books 4 Life Utrecht now open!

Books 4 Life's Utrecht shop is now open. We are selling books from within a dedicated area of the JoHo Center at St. Jacobsstraat 273. The opening festivities took place on Wednesday the 17th of June and were a big success with lots of volunteers, family & friends and other guests. While everyone enjoyed drinks, snacks and music, we also sold quite a few books. In fact, during its first couple of hours of trading, Books 4 Life Utrecht already made more than 100 euros for charity through book sales. From now on, the shop will be open from 10.00 until 18.00, Tuesday to Friday. Click here for more photos.




June 2009: Books 4 Life to go multi-national

Unbelievable. But true. Books 4 Life will soon be going multi-national. A group of students at the University of Graz in Austria has been so inspired by the concept of Books 4 Life that they have decided to open their own shop! The students belong to the university's so-called “Circle of Excellence”: a group of students who have excelled in their studies and who join forces for a year of extra-curricular activities such as introductory days at interesting domestic and international companies and a special project to push them to put their knowledge and skills into practice. After the CEO of the Circle of Excellence association paid a visit to Holland and discovered Books 4 Life, this year's students have decided that setting up their own Books 4 Life shop will be their project. They have already had a positive meeting with the university authorities and are working on a detailed plan to put their ideas into action. More on this exciting new development soon.


May 2009: Books 4 Life now also on Doenersweb

From May onwards, you can also find Books 4 Life via Oxfam Novib's Doenersweb. This is a website where people around the country who are interested in starting or getting involved in projects that make a difference can find one another. You can "meet" other active volunteers in your city - first online and then of course in person at one of the many meetings or events that are organised by individuals through Doenersweb. Books 4 Life has started its own group to try to get more volunteers excited about helping out in a shop or even starting their own. We will also be posting some of our events through Doenersweb to hopefully reach out to more people around the country. Click here to visit the site and become a member of Doenersweb.


April 2009: Books 4 Life Maastricht open!

The waiting is finally over for residents of Maastricht: the new Books 4 Life shop will open in the city this month. The shop opened for its first day of trading on Monday the 6th of April and the official launch party was held on Wednesday the 22nd of April. Within the first two weeks, the Maastricht shop already managed to raise over 400 euros for charity. We are sure that it will be a big success.

Come by the shop at Kapoenstraat 2 (in the basement of the Graduate School of Governance) to meet the volunteers, donate or buy some books or just take a look around. Visit the Books 4 Life Maastricht website for more information.


March 2009: Books 4 Life soon to come to Utrecht

On the 27th of November, 2008, the (ex) members of the Utrecht start-up workgroup received a fantastic message from Books 4 Life the Netherlands. There have been some promising developments in Utrecht! Two of the old group, Tineke and Lotte and a newcomer, Eefje, decided to give Books 4 Life Utrecht another try. It now looks very likely that Books 4 Life will be opening in the centre of Utrecht and soon. This development has been made possible by a new partner – Books 4 Life is going to be working together with the WorldStudyBank project. This project (www.worldstudybank.org), that promotes the exchange of knowledge between western and third world countries, is a volunteer project that was initiated by JoHo.
You will soon be able to find more information here about how to become a volunteer with Books 4 Life Utrecht and how to donate books for our new shop.
In the meantime, if you would like to know more about the developments surrounding Books 4 Life Utrecht, please email us at books4life.utrecht@gmail.com.


January 2009: Books 4 Life to work with Plantage Books & More

This January, Books 4 Life will be working with Plantage Books & More to collect all of your unwanted books for charity! From the 19th to the 31st of January, you can hand in your old books at one of the Plantage Books & More shops.

Click on the banner to read all about it!

December 2008: Books 4 Life Tilburg raises 7000 euros

2008 was another very successful year for the Books 4 Life shop in Tilburg. Thanks to the efforts of all our book donors, customers and volunteers, we raised 7000 euros for charity. This was announced during the Human Rights Day events at Tilburg University on the 11th of December, 2008.


July 2008: Books 4 Life wins another award

Books 4 Life has won another award for the innovative way in which it activates students to do volunteer work and raises money for charity through the sale of second-hand books. Last November, the university's own second-hand charity bookshop won the audience nomination for best sustainable student initiative at a national conference on sustainability in higher education. This time, Books 4 Life has been honoured by Margriet magazine through the selection of Laura van Waas, co-founder of the shop, as one of the 2008-2009 “Better World Women” (Betere Wereld Vrouwen).

The award could not have come at a better time since Laura and a whole group of others are currently working to set up shops in other cities across the country - the next Books 4 Life location is Maastricht, where a new shop will be welcoming its first customers by the end of August. Part of the Better World Women concept is a weekly ‘blog' on the Margriet website where Books 4 Life can easily keep people up to date with all local and national developments and hopefully allow the organisation to connect with more supporters around the country. In addition, the award brings with it a cash prize of 1500 euros that can be used to give a boost to the campaign to introduce Books 4 Life nationwide.

Details of the campaign can be found on the the
Margriet “Better World Women” website. Books 4 Life will have its own place on this website from September and will also be featured among the Better World Women projects in a special supplement to the September edition of Margriet magazine.

April 2008: Green light for Books 4 Life Maastricht

The race to open the Netherland's second Books 4 Life shop has been won by the city of Maastricht. The university there has now given the green light for setting up a shop on campus. A suitable room has been found in the building of the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance (Kapoenstraat 2). Over the coming months, a large team of enthusiastic students and staff will be collecting books, recruiting volunteers and getting the shop ready for business. The grand opening is planned for the end of August. Follow the developments in Maastricht and other cities across the country here on our website.