Spreading Joy Through Books
Get beautiful Book Dash books to children in your community to bring them joy, support their health and happiness and build their future -- all you have to do is send our book files to a copy shop or printer and they will do the rest!
5 Step guide
Read the guide to start your own Spreading Joy Through Books
5 Step guide
Read the guide to start your own Spreading Joy Through Books
Book Dash introduction
If you’re reading this and can see the ‘funding available’ sign in your region, you might be eligible to receive all the necessary funding required to implement 'Spreading Joy Through Books' in your local community.
Once you've completed your ChangeX 30 Day Challenge successfully and funding has been allocated to you, you should follow 'Step 1' of the accessible toolkit under resources (this includes detailed instructions of how to reach Book Dash).
We will set up a 30-minute introduction call where we will explain the process, timelines, resources you’ll need and what to get in place in order to document every step of the process so that you can replicate the programme again and again. We also will discuss how to identify potential distribution partners in your community that will benefit from the programme and this will also be an opportunity for you to ask all the questions you might have.
Are you ready? Let’s get started! With our support, you’ll soon:
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print up to 1,000 Book Dash books, and
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deliver and gift them to children in your community!
Select the Book Dash books
Book Dash will provide you with guidelines/help/training to best:
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select the type and language of books to print
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download the electronic files and prepare the books for printing
Select a printer
Book Dash will provide you with guidelines/help/training to best:
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search for and select potential printers
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get quotes from different printers and sign a contract with the best-suited one
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organise a visit with your printer to meet them and see how they work
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checking the first printed books before giving the go-ahead for the big print run
Select a distribution partner/s
Book Dash will provide you with guidelines/help/training to best:
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search for and select distribution partners to team up with to get the books to the children in the most efficient way possible
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creating a tracking system to document the process and share it with the distribution partners - from receiving the books from the printers, to where they finally are in the childrens’ hands
Distribute the books and initiate some training
Book Dash will provide you with guidelines/help/training to best:
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make sure that the printed books reach the children after receiving it from the printers
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initiate some training based on best practices around book sharing
About Spreading Joy Through Books
"The ‘Enabling Schools’ project aimed to develop a joy for reading amongst children in rural South Africa before learning to read/reading to learn. We downloaded and printed (20,000+) Book Dash books (with themes on health, wellbeing, and education) and used them in reading cycles. Nearly 2,000 children, along with community members and teachers, participated in these reading cycles in English and their home language, Setswana. The children also co-authored their own storybooks in their home language, vividly depicting their lives. The pride and shift towards children as knowledge producers rather than consumers has had a palpable effect on parents, tribal authorities, and policymakers in education."
Great for
- Someone passionate about books and young children
- Someone with access to a computer and has basic computer skills
- Someone with experience starting/managing a community project
- Someone who is a very good communicator and comfortable to speak and write in English
- Someone with connections to local organisations that care for young children, like crèches, clinics or organisations that promote literacy
Time
You can manage the project at your own pace! We suggest 3-7 days to understand the Book Dash printing process and map out your plan. 3-7 days to find a reliable printer. 7-14 days to visit local organisations to decide where/how to distribute the books. 7-14 days to allow for the books to be printed and distributed. 14-21 days to document your process.
Resource checklist
- Reliable access to electricity, a computer, and the internet and a cell phone with mobile data
- An understanding of the centres/organisations in your community working with young children
- A local printer or copy shop that you can access
- Reliable transport to and from partner organisations who will receive the books