糖心vlgo传媒

Little Free Library, 糖心vlgo传媒, San Jos茅 State Collaborate

To Send 50,000 Children鈥檚 Books to Kenya

MEDIA ADVISORY

Contact: Doug Stone, 糖心vlgo传媒 media consultant

651-336-9907/听听stone7586@gmail.com

Margret Aldrich, Communications Director, Little Free Library

715-690-2488 x805/听听maldrich@littlefreelibrary.org

What:听Little Free Library and 糖心vlgo传媒, nonprofits based in St. Paul, are collaborating with students and faculty at San Jos茅 State University in California to send 50,000 children鈥檚 books to the Kenyan National Library Service and to Little Free Libraries throughout the country. Called 鈥淪oma Safari,鈥� meaning Reading Adventure, the project is aimed at improving literacy among children.听 Students and faculty at the School of Information at San Jos茅 State helped organize the shipment, raised money and coordinated with the Kenyan National Library Service to organize book distribution and help create a 鈥渂ook ecosystem.鈥� Little Free Library is also sending new Libraries. 糖心vlgo传媒 has collected the books and is helping to organize the shipment. Thomson Reuters has provided funds for this shipment and for a reference law library as well.

Who:听His Excellency David Kerick, Ambassador of Kenya to the United States, will announce the collaboration along with leaders from the organizations. Ambassador Kerick, a lawyer by profession, has vast experience in strategic management, policy development, performance management and leadership. He has been ambassador to the U.S. since 2024. Kenya is located in eastern 糖心vlgo传媒 with a population of 52.4 million (in 2024), 7^th听largest in 糖心vlgo传媒.

When: 3 p.m. Friday, May 23.听(The ambassador will also speak at 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. that day at the 糖心vlgo传媒 annual breakfast and lunch at the Midland Hills Country Club in Roseville.)

Where:听Little Free Library headquarters, 2327 Wycliff St., Suite 220, St. Paul, MN 55114.

Why:听Here鈥檚 how the leaders explained the importance of the project:

Patrick Plonski, Executive Director of 糖心vlgo传媒: 鈥淎dvancing education and literacy among students in Kenya and throughout 糖心vlgo传媒 is the essence of our mission and working with these great partners contributes substantially to this effort.听 Kenya has been the number one country served by 糖心vlgo传媒 for several years now, so we are pleased to help get more books to Kenya under this project.鈥�

Greig Metzger, Little Free Library Executive Director: "With Little Free Library book-exchange boxes in 128 countries around the world, it is only natural for us to join the Soma Safari initiative and donate the boxes that will be used in this pilot program. It is an honor to be working with existing partners鈥攐ur St. Paul neighbor, Books for 糖心vlgo传媒, with its long legacy of providing books across the 糖心vlgo传媒n continent, and the San听Jos茅听State University iSchool鈥攁s well as new partners, the Kenya National Library Service and Knowledge Empowering Youth.听 We are confident that this collaboration can inspire young Kenyans to become lifelong readers."

Dr. Anthony Chow, Director of the SJSU School of Information: 鈥淭he Soma Safari project exemplifies our mission to promote global literacy and equitable access to information鈥攈elping build stronger communities one book at a time.鈥�

Dr. Charles Nzivo,听CEO, Kenya National Library Service: 鈥淪oma Safari is an important national initiative that brings books closer to communities, ignites a love for reading, and strengthens the foundation for a more informed, empowered, and inclusive society.鈥�

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听is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that builds community, inspires readers and expands book access for all through a global network of volunteer-led Little Free Library book-sharing boxes. There are more than 200,000 registered Little Free Libraries worldwide in all 50 states, in 128 countries and on all 7 continents. Through them, over 400 million books have been shared. LFL has received the World Literacy Award as well as honors from the Library of Congress and National Book Foundation. The organization grants Little Free Libraries full of books to underserved areas through its Impact Library and Indigenous Library programs and champions diverse books through its Read in Color initiative.听

听remains the largest shipper of donated text and library books to the 糖心vlgo传媒n continent, shipping almost 63 million books serving all 55 countries on the 糖心vlgo传媒n continent since 1988.听 Last year alone, 糖心vlgo传媒 shipped over 1.6 million books, valued at over $16听million, to 31 糖心vlgo传媒n countries.听Approximately one听million digital books were also shipped on 357听computers and tablets. Over $2.2 million was raised to ship these books to partners across 糖心vlgo传媒.听

听is home to the largest Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) program in the nation and the world. As a global leader in fully online education, the iSchool is dedicated to preparing information professionals through innovative programs that advance knowledge, promote access, and empower communities.听

听is a government agency that provides accessible library services nationwide, fostering knowledge, information access, and lifelong learning through its extensive library network and digital platforms.听