Book Donations
To encourage reading outside the classroom, SMART provides each child in our program with up to 14 new books to take home and keep.
Thanks to longstanding relationships with leading publishers, SMART purchases books at a considerable discount. Because it’s most cost-effective for SMART to purchase books, we strongly encourage financial donations rather than book donations. Just $35 helps SMART buy books for one child for a year.
SMART Book Challenge
Each year in March, SMART volunteers across Oregon are invited to participate in a friendly fundraising competition. Their task? To see who can get the most books into kids’ hands! Funds raised help purchase books for our next program year.
The 2013 Book Challenge runs from March 23 through April 26. More information will be posted here as the date nears.
Guidelines for Book Donations
Books in the program must follow a specific set of guidelines:
- All purchased and donated books are approved by and property of SMART.
- Every SMART site has a giveaway collection of new books purchased by or donated to SMART.
- The permanent collection is comprised primarily of donated, hardbound books. These books provide reading pairs with a selection of high quality books that SMART is unable to purchase through its vendors.
- Books are chosen for the program based on their appeal and ability to draw students into the illustrations, story and meaning.
*Site Coordinators and/or SMART managers have the right to refuse any book that:
- Is damaged and worn
- Does not meet the needs of a PreK-3 child’s developmental level both in listening and reading language
- Includes holiday, religious and/or issue-oriented themes