How to Donate Books for Disaster Victims

In times of natural disaster, victims usually need food, water and shelter more than anything else. People often push non-essentials such as magazines, televisions and video games aside in favor of these necessary items. While perfectly understandable, there will always be victims who need some cheering up by losing themselves in a good book to forget about their predicaments. Donating books to those caught in natural disasters is as easy as finding a reputable charity, finding a homeless shelter that accepts books or checking for thrift stores in your local neighborhood.

Things You'll Need

• Charity
• Thrift store
• Homeless shelter

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Instructions

• 1

  Look for a charity that accepts donations, such as the Salvation Army.

  Call the charity's main number to see if they are accepting book donations. The Salvation Army often schedules days for mass pick-ups in specific areas. Visit salvationarmy.org for more information about the army and its mission. Make sure any charity you donate to is reputable. Run any charity you suspect of shady dealings through the Better Business Bureau to see if it is legitimate.

• 2

  Check for a thrift store in your neighborhood accepting donations for disaster victims.

  Call the store to see if it is taking books and find out if they have a free pick up service. Bring the books to the store if they do not offer a pick-up service. Clean the books if they are dirty and make sure they are in good condition, as most thrift stores will not take items in substandard condition.

• 3

  Donate books to homeless shelters.

  Oftentimes, people caught in natural disasters become homeless, forcing them to use these shelters until they can get back on their feet. Many shelters get by on limited budgets, making it difficult to purchase books for people living there. Your donations can give the homeless reading material to help them through their hard times.