It takes a lot to run a charity. A lot of energy, imagination, hard work, sacrifice and dedication. And I can't do it alone.
The charity is so lucky to have some brilliant book sorters who work in the book collection hub sorting the donations into those we can use and those we can't. We don't re-donate any books that are torn, worn or out of date - after all if we want to inspire children to read for pleasure we need to offer them books of the highest quality we know they'll want to read.
The hub team are brilliant at this - ensuring every box of books that leaves our hub is one we can be proud of. We get some many thousands of beautiful books donated we really do feel very lucky to receive them.
When people hear 'pre-loved' what they really hear is 'second best' and this couldn't be further from the truth. Books that come from people's homes are usually very gently used - and some are clearly duplicates as have never even been read. There's plenty of the old favourites, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Tom Gates, Harry Potter etc, and for these we are most grateful.
By donating these types of popular books, we enable schools to spend their precious book budget on some of the newest inclusive literature. That's not to say we don't get some of the best books donated too - we do! But of course they are often outnumbered by the popular titles.
Our book sorters are meticulous in the sorting and categorising of books. They curate collections for SEND schools, seek out 'perfect' books to be used as prizes, keep back Christmas books for festive giveaways and are always thinking of ways to extend our offering and use for books outside of the remit. All while sorting hundreds of books a month ready for distribution to local schools. They are the solid, dependable, focused energy that keeps the ABC wheels turning and the charity is very lucky to have them!
