Change by Doing Explore the world of volunteering and service

There are few issues on which the leaders of the world can agree, but you would have a hard time finding anyone to veer from the belief that education is the key to advancing a community, village, town, city, or nation. We certainly know here at home that the lack of a vigorously healthy education system is holding us back (and indefensible in a country that has access to doing so much better). In regions living with crippling poverty, opening the door just the slightest crack by providing opportunities for education has dramatic effects. Give those opportunities equally to boys and girls, and you’ve planted the seeds of a success revolution.

The World is Just a Book Away is a charitable organization launched in 2008, with the goal of bringing books and eduction to children in developing countries. The vision of The World is Just a Book Away: A world in which all children have access to books, a quality education, and hope for the future. The group builds libraries and sustainable programs for education, the first being in Sidoarjo, Indonesia—a region on the island of Java that has been devastated by a mudflow disaster that has displaced more than 60,000 people and resulted in the hospitalization of at least 40,000 others.30 libraries, a mobile library, and thousands of books are transforming that community.

In addition to looking at the possibility of supporting the seminal work of The World is Just a Book Away, think about the books you have, perhaps in boxes or closet shelves, that could be donated to this or similar programs. They are meant to be read.