Run Your Drive | Epic Book Drive

How to: Run a Book Drive

  1. Get the go ahead. You don’t want to get on your principal’s bad side so first make sure that he or she is okay with this sort of thing.
  2. Get your teachers on board. Have the teachers promise to do something crazy if you reach a certain goal, like promise to wear a ridiculous t-shirt to work or shave their heads. The hope of punishing a teacher has a certain way of inspiring people.
  3. Get your friends on board. You don’t want to do this alone so recruit anyone and everyone to help you out. Pull the guilt trip and/or friendship card if you have to - hey, it’s for a good cause!
  4. Spread the word. You need to market your drive! Make posters and fliers ahead of time giving people the details. Contact local press to see if they'll run an ad or story on your drive to let people know where to drop off books.
  5. Get attention. Use some creativity to decorate the boxes. The more people know about it, the more donations you’ll get. Talk to your local bookstore and library and see if they will hang a flier. They may be willing to put out a drop off box!
  6. Use your lungs. Ask if you can make an announcement over the PA system, during morning announcements or homeroom. Or use your big mouth during lunch or in between periods and shout out the cause.
  7. Make it easy. People are more likely to help if they don’t have to do much work, so offer to pick up the donations at their houses or set up a collection bin in the front of your school or in the lunchroom. As a matter of fact, DO BOTH!
  8. Show off the goods. Display the donations you’ve gotten to get other teens into the mix. You may even want to set a goal and give a daily update on how close you are to achieving your goal. Create huge poster boards that you can display in a prominent place. You can set a goal of 150 boxes and update the sign everyday with the number collected.
  9. Close down. Officially end the drive by posting the number of books you collected in the main lobby or lunchroom and give special thanks to everyone who chipped in.
  10. Now that you’ve got the goods. Login to Better World Books’ Portal (link) to order boxes, print mailing labels, or schedule a pick-up if you’ve collected 150+ boxes! Forgot your login? Email epic@dosomething.org and we’ll send you a reminder.
  11. Drive ideas. Can’t think of anything off the chain to raise donations for your cause? Check out our list of 11 Ideas for a Collection Drive.