Non-Profit Circumnavigator

[BoundlessBooks]

Hello everyone, my name is Eric and roughly a year ago I started a non-profit called Boundless Books (www.boundlessbooks.org) and thus far we've delivered textbooks to Tanzania, school supplies to 200 children in Iraq, and we are preparing to send 700 textbooks to Uganda. I think it's fair to say that we have had some success so far but I am planning an event to drive a little more publicity.

My plan is to sail around the world collecting books from various places and delivering them in others. What I am hoping to get from this forum are recommendations for routes, places to stay, boats, equipment, etc. Basically I am open to any sort of recommendation and look forward to hearing from you. Either respond to this thread or feel free to email me directly at eric.holland@boundlessbooks.org (my spam filter is strong).

Regards,
Eric

[Hankthelank]

That's a really novel idea! (no pun intended). Can't really help with your route just wanted to say good luck!

[Christian Van H]

"You're gonna need a bigger boat! "

[James S]

Sounds like an honorable thing to do.

If you name your boat Dano we can say..."Book-em Dano"
I know.......but sometimes I cant help my self!

Welcome to the Forum I hope you get as much from it as I have.

[swagman]

Well done. I'm pretty sure most marinas would host a bin to hold cruisers old books but not sure how cost effective it might be to ship them. Good luck with the PR trip. Wish you well.
JOHN

[Talbot]

Some idea of the type of books your are looking for would be usefull.

[Soft Air]

Good luck Erick and congratulations in such a great and novel idea

As Talbot says, some idea of the type of books, languages you are looking for would be very useful.

Thanks again

[David M]

Nice idea Eric. I guess if the idea really takes off you will be looking at a tug and barge?

[slomotion]

We used to do this on a small scale in the Bahamas and Caribbean - not with books, but with school supplies. Crayons, pencils, paper, notebooks, markers, glue sticks - all were gratefully accepted and apparently needed even in places with 'good' school systems.

You might be able to get a grant from the Gates Foundation:

http://www.gatesfoundation.org

I have no relationship with them, but I used to have a relationship with Microsoft and I was able to acquire and distribute not-for-resale software to underfunded school districts.

Fair Winds

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Eric,
Welcome aboard! Great idea.
From the West coast come through Hawaii and then on to the South Pacific Islands. They need books.
Funny story: I overheard an old curmudgeon talking about our new Borders Book Store here in Hilo (first a few years ago). "Why do we need another book store here? Nobody reads."
Sad
kind regards,
JohnL

[imagine2frolic]

Wouldn't it be cheaper to put the books on pallets, and ship them? I see you are asking for donations, and credit cards are accepted. Will these donations go to buying books, or will it be funding your sailing trip?

What kind of boat is it you already have that will be delivering these books. As Christian stated you will need a bigger boat. I tried to go to your site, but I don't like having to log in when someone is asking me for something. I could not see if there is a vessel in place.

Is there documentation for boundlessbooks proving it is not for profit in the site? Excuse me for being so upfront, but when you come asking for donations. My street person becomes suspicious when no documention is put forth, so I ask for it.

It is a noble thing you are suggesting you are doing. BEST WISHES in succeeding in helping the less fortunate. Especially when it comes to reading. Information can be the key to success, and that can come from reading......i2f

[Hud3]

School books and supplies are a big issue in the eastern Caribbean. Cruisers Melodye and John Pompa have organized an effort on Cariacou in the Grendadines called Boaters for Books. Here on Nevis, students must buy their own textbooks, and school supplies are in short supply. We've donated items to a local school, and they were gratefully accepted.

[BoundlessBooks]

Hello everyone, thanks so much for your interest. People asked a lot of great questions and I hope to respond to a lot of them here.

1) I'm not looking for donations here, just some general thoughts and ideas, i.e. tricks of the trade people have picked up over time. I apologize for any confusion.

2) Yes it is cheaper and easier to ship the books and that is what we currently do. For example we are going to be sending 700+ textbooks to Uganda very soon at $4 a pound which is a great price. The intention of this trip is to get the name of the organization out in the open and get some publicity for what we are doing.

3) With all of the confusion people have had I've taken it as an action item to make the website a bit more clear. In the meantime, the website is for the organization strictly and I am taking the trip to promote that organization. Any money that has been donated has gone to shipment of books and in no way goes to this trip. We plan on holding special events for the trip so people know exactly what they're donating to and want to give money to help us get our name out. We have also started a blog (circumwhat.blogspot.com it's a WIP) where we are trying to build up readership to the point where we can look into getting sponsorship or doing product reviews for companies.

Thanks again everyone for all the great feedback and I look forward to hearing from you in the future.

Eric