Books on tape

In our world, not everyone is given equal opportunity to learn, so as two sophomores, we began a project to change this. We recorded books on tape for children in impoverished neighborhoods. We set a goal to record a total of 100 books and donate the books and their matching tapes to four elementary schools. We went to a local festival to spread the word about our project and collect donations. In the end, we raised $150 for supplies.  Next, we visited countless yard sales and thrift stores looking for childrens books, as well as donating our own. We bought tapes in bulk and went through half a dozen boxes of plastic bags to package all the books and tapes.  It took over 70 hours of recording and editing, but when it came time to deliver the books, we had recorded an amazing 150 books in just weeks. We gave the books to four schools with the highest poverty levels and lowest reading test scores. It was a great experience delivering the books to the schools and seeing the happiness and hope the books brought the children, but we want to do more. There were far more schools in Seattle that wanted the books than we could possibly help in our time frame, so we have plans for the summer and the next school year. We want to continue recording books and expand the program further this year to reach out to children all over Washington and beyond.