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2020 Maine Books Challenge

2,020 BOOKS CHALLENGE OVERVIEW

Purpose: To support local STUDENTS and BUSINESSES during this period of remote learning by getting books in the hands of as many Maine children as possible.

Partners: Educate Maine is working with our network of County Teachers of the Year and Education Leaders Experience alumni to distribute books in all 16 counties. We are also supporting Maine’s independent bookstores. We know this will look different in different places, and we anticipate bringing on more partners as our efforts grow.

For information about how one school is getting books into the hands of students at this time, read on.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

1. Purchase an online gift card in any amount to one of Maine’s independent bookstores (or any book retailer).
   • Designate katherine@educatemaine.orgas the recipient and she will forward your gift card to one of our county teachers for purchase and distribution to students. Note – several bookstores are adapting to restrictions and not all are currently open. You may want to call ahead.
   • Some booksellers may not offer online gift cards - you can call and ask if they could generate a credit, or please reach out to katherine@educatemaine.org to coordinate an alternative method of getting books to students.
   • Tip: if you are able to coordinate with others in your workplace or community, it would be preferable for one person to make the gift card purchase using everyone's donations as opposed to several smaller gift card transactions. 
2. Fill out this brief form to help us keep track of our progress toward 2,020 books. You can also specify whether you have a particular part of Maine in mind to receive your gift. 

For the purpose of this challenge, we're counting every $10 donated as one book. We will share our progress regularly on our website and through our social media channels.

This one small act of generosity will make a big difference in the lives of Maine students and businesses. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Some press coverage on the challenge can be found below:

2020 Maine Books Challenge aims to get kids reading and boost local business

Educate Maine launches Books Challenge to provide books to students amid pandemic 

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