LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX News) — What began with one educator's trip to India has grown into a global mission, and International Book Project is marking 60 years of getting books to people who need them.
Rachel Ray, executive director of International Book Project, said the organization traces its roots to its founder's firsthand experience with a critical shortage of reading materials.
"International Book Project was started 60 years ago by Harriet Van Meter, who was an educator and on a trip to India, discovered a very huge lack of books and reading materials," Ray said.
Today, donated books are sorted at the organization's warehouse in Lexington before being shipped to communities around the world.
"We've shipped books to all of the inhabited continents, over eight million books since we've been in existence," Ray said.
The books are organized by subject category so the team can quickly respond to specific requests.
"So we take those books, take them back to our warehouse, sort them into subject categories, and then when we get a request from say a school in Rwanda that needs elementary education books, we can go through, pull those books, pack them up and ship them out," Ray said.
Shipments can range from a single box to thousands of books at a time. Ray said access to reading materials has a measurable impact on people's lives.
"Merely having either books in your home or ready access to books is a huge, huge factor in success in all areas of life," Ray said.
To mark the milestone, the organization is hosting a gala called A Novel Evening on Sept. 19 at ArtsPlace in downtown Lexington.
"We are so excited about our 60th anniversary. We are throwing a big party to celebrate," Ray said
Guests will receive a passport and collect stamps by participating in different activities throughout the evening, with a chance to win a year-long Book of the Month Club subscription.
"Tickets are going fast though. There's only, there's less than 50 left. So if you're interested, get your tickets now," Ray said.
To learn more, you can visit A Novel Evening: Celebrating 60 Years of Literacy • IBP
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