Schools – Read To Grow

Since 2002, school donations have helped

0 schools

Read to Grow’s success is partly due the enthusiastic participation of many schools. The largest part of Read to Grow’s books are collected by schools.

Thanks to our annual World Book Day drives and end-of-year pickups, we’ve collected over 1.5 million books. We sort, pack and ship them to communities that need them most.

Library & Classroom Cleanouts

If your school is updating its library or replacing classroom books, consider donating the old ones. Even gently used books can inspire and educate children around the world!

Books from Families

Ask parents to donate books their children have outgrown. A simple call for book donations can make a huge difference for schools and libraries in developing countries.

Making Donations Easy & Impactful

We offer multiple collection options to suit your school’s needs.

World Book Day

Help to improve / stimulate literacy by donating books for World Book Day and joining schools worldwide in making a difference.

Get Involved

Large Scale Collections

Do you have 10,000+ books to donate? We arrange special pickups for bulk donations.

Email Us

End-of-Year Cleanups

Clearing out your library or classrooms? We’ll help you give old books a new home instead of letting them go to waste.

Organise Collection

Which books do we need?

We are looking for books for the age group 3 to 17 years old, in English, French and Spanish. Please do not textbooks !!! There are 5 book categories:

Category A

Pre nursery and nursery books

Category B

Easy reading books from 7-12

Category C

Reading books age 12 - 16

Category C 16+

Young adult books

Category I

Informative books about machines, dogs, plants, astronomy, cars, the human body, et cetera for all ages

Book Donation Guidelines

Please read the requirements. Our book drives are designed to ensure a smooth, organised, and an overall impactful collection process.

A Willing School Community

Your school should be excited to take part and encourage students and parents to donate books. We will provide flyers for parents so that they know how to participate and what books to donate.

A Collection Point

Our DBS certified team members arrive by van. This means we need you to set up a designated drop-off spot for book donations, such as the loading dock area near the entrance.

Suitable Books

All books must be in good condition and appropriate for students and educators. Please do not donate damaged, religious, or political books. We want to ensure every book can find a second home where it’s needed.

Collection Commitment

Pick a specific day when students can bring their books in as part of a fun and organized event. This keeps the process smooth and engaging while making sure every donation is properly collected.

Book Quantity

To ensure maximum impact we ask each participating school to provide a minimum of 5 boxes of books, with each box containing approximately 40 books. For a school with 200 children, this means you'll need to collect at least 200 books.

Library Collections

In addition to collecting books from your students, we’re also happy to accept any books from your school library that are no longer needed. If your library has books that are suitable for donation, this is a fantastic way to contribute to the drive and to ensure those books continue to make a difference in other communities.

What we accept

and don't accept

Watch the video below featuring Kim Tyo-Dickerson, head librarian
of the international school in Amsterdam.

yes!

no!

Do not pack...

Examples of books that we recycle because they are not relevant to children in developing countries

Jokes

Patriotic

Religious

Monsters & Demons

Damaged Books

The Read to Grow world book day Award

Every book donation helps change lives, and we want to recognize the schools that go above and beyond.

As a token of appreciation we present a special statuette to the school that donates most books during our World Book Day Collection.

What is the Award?

The school with the highest number of books divided by the total number of students or pupils attending this school wins the award. This means that small and big schools have an equal opportunity to win the Award.

Since 2002, school donations have helped

You pack the books in boxes for collection

We collect books from your school ​

We sort & send them to those who need it​

Your book donations receive a new home