One box in a corridor. Hundreds of new stories at the far end.
Drives running now
HGM Vitale School in Kathonzweni has a newly built library and no reading books to put in it — only textbooks.
Read the poster
Two schools in rural Makueni County have 1,350 learners between them and nowhere to read. A library is more than four walls and shelves — and these spaces do not simply happen. Someone has to make…
Read the posterA book drive is people getting together to collect books for children who need them.
Anyone can run one — a family, a school, an office, a community group. You collect new or gently used books and pass them to Books & Beyond.
It can be as simple as putting a box in a school corridor, an office or a community hall, and asking people to add a book they have loved and are ready to pass on.
Every book that goes in that box gets to start a new journey in somebody else's hands.
We would love new or gently used children's books that are clean, complete and in good condition. Anything suitable for children and young people:
Before you put a book in the box, one question is usually enough:
Would I be happy giving this book to my own child, or to a friend?
If the answer is yes, we would be delighted to find it a new home.
There are a few ways in. You can donate books directly, run a book drive at your school, workplace or community, or get friends and family collecting together.
For where to drop off or send books, get in touch through our Donate or Contact page.
If you are outside Kenya and want to run a drive, please contact us — we will work out the best way together.
Once a year. In your school. Your church. Your estate. Your team.
You organise a book collection among the people you already know.
You drop off what you collect at one of our points.
We deliver those books to a school library that has none.
That's how children help children.
Tell us who you are and where you're driving from. Takes 2 minutes. No fee. No approval required.
Put out a box. Tell your community. Children's books, storybooks, educational materials. Good condition only.
Bring your books to our drop-off point in Kitisuru, Nairobi — or WhatsApp us to arrange collection.
We'll tell you exactly which school your books went to. Your name goes on our public Drive Wall.
Can't make it to Nairobi? WhatsApp us and we'll arrange a collection or a local drop-off point near you.
Pin one up at your school, your office or your church — or send it on to somebody who collects books. Every Books & Beyond library goes up with these on the wall.
Ideas for our youngest readers — the books and reading sets we would most love to add to the shelves.
Read the poster: Book Drive Ideas — Kindergarten and Lower Primary
Good-quality, age-appropriate books that will inform, inspire and support students in Grades 10 to 13.
Why we do this
The children who donate books have discovered not only the joy of reading but the joy of giving — that generosity multiplies happiness and makes opportunities for somebody else.