COME SERVE WITH US AT THE "BOOKS FOR THE WORLD" PROJECT

THE SECOND WIND FOUNDATION, A 501(C)(3) NON-PROFIT, FUNDS THE "BOOKS FOR THE WORLD" PROJECT WHICH WAS STARTED IN 2000 BY DISTRICT 5890 ROTARIANS BARBARA & PAST DISTRICT GOVERNOR CHARLIE CLEMMONS WITH THE SEABROOK ROTARY CLUB...
  •  This project is four-projects in one:  Literacy - International - Vocational - & Environmental
  • Shipped a total of 17 MILLION POUNDS of books
  • US176 MILLION is the total value of books shipped
  • Books are shipped FREE OF Charge to Rotary clubs in 25 countries
  • In addition, the 40-foot steel ocean shipping container is donated to the Rotary club to be converted into Community Centers, Medical Clinics, Libraries, Polio Vaccination Centers, & more!
  • Rotarians in the 25 countries have distributed...FREE OF CHARGE...to teachers, schools, libraries, trade schools & universities! 

"When you teach somebody how to read, they have that for a lifetime.  It ripples through the community, one by one."  Mark Wilson, RotarIAN

 
 
This project couldn't happen without our remarkable volunteers, and donors!  Rotarians, Rotaractors, high school Interact club members and community volunteers.  The donated books are separated into categories (school textbooks, children's books, reference books, etc.), placed in boxes, then stacked on export pallets for shipment from the Port of Houston to Rotary clubs in over 25 countries. 
When they arrive overseas, the Rotarians sort the books and then donate these books to their local schools, libraries, and other educational institutions.
For many students and schools, our books are the first books they've ever had.
 
Want more details about volunteering or donating books or volunteering? 
 

We have a NEW Books for the World warehouse.

volunteer with us at our January - June 2025 sortings!

Want to volunteer?  Click here to register!
Have questions?  Click here to send an email
 
The new location for our Books for the World warehouse Cubework Houston Warehouse at 3401 Navigation Blvd. in Houston, Texas 77003. and each sorting will be held 9 AM until noon. 
Here's the sorting dates for 2025:
January 18, February 8, March 1, March 22, April 12, May 10, May 31, and June 21.
Time for each sorting:  9 AM - Noon
 

Donate to Books for the World 

Books for the World is a global literacy project supervised by Rotarians. We ship books from the United States, which might otherwise be discarded into landfills, and the books are sent to children worldwide where educational resources are in short supply.

Our educational non-profit organization is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Seabrook and funded by the Second Wind Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, to promote literacy worldwide.

                  Donations can be mailed and made payable to:
                  The Second Wind Foundation/Books for the World:
                  2951 Marina Bay Drive 130-602
                  League City, TX 77573
COME SERVE WITH US AT THE "BOOKS FOR THE WORLD" PROJECT
For information about the Books for the World Project, please email: Literacy@BooksForTheWorld.org
The Second Wind Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and donations are accepted!
 
 
 
 
 
 
Visit The "Books For The World" Website
Click Me!
COME VOLUNTEER WITH US!
Each month, our high school Interact club members, Rotarians, Rotaractors and young professionals team up at the Books for the World warehouse, Cubework Warehouse at 3401 Navigation Blvd. in Houston, Texas 77003.   They volunteer together for 3-hours to sort and palletize the books donated from school districts, local libraries, and individuals in Houston, throughout Texas, plus other states.
 
WANT TO VOLUNTEER AND/OR DONATE BOOKS? 
Below are the upcoming 2025 volunteer dates:
 

purpose of project

"When you teach somebody how to read, they have that for a lifetime.  It ripples through the community, one by one."  Mark Wilson, Rotary Club member. 
 
  • According to Save The Children, globally 393 million children under age 10 can't read!
  • More than 775 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate (that's 17 percent of the world's adult population)
  • Our landfills are filling up, and this project helps protect the environment.  It is a "reduce, reuse, recycle" project since the books are saved from landfills. and the steel ocean containers are repurposed rather than destroyed.
Started by Rotary Club of Seabrook Rotarians, Past District Governor Charlie and Past Assistant Governor Barb Clemmons founded the Second Wind Foundation and created the Books for the World Project.
 
The Second Wind Foundation gives these books their "second wind" to be used to educate even more children. Second Wind is on the State of Texas' approved list to receive the outdated textbooks from schools districts for export.
 
HOW DO WE OBTAIN OUR BOOKS?
School districts, groups, private schools, libraries, plus individuals and Rotary clubs in the USA donate children's books, college books, dictionaries and reference books to this project.
 
Every 3-years, the State of Texas and several other states, purchase new elementary, middle school, and high school textbooks for each campus. 
 
What happens to the old textbooks when they are outdated/replaced? 
Since districts are prohibited from reselling the books, districts shred the books and are dumped into landfills.
 

Rather that paying to shred, and dispose of outdated textbooks, school districts instead donate their books to Second Wind Foundation, and then Rotarians, Interactors, and others volunteer to sort and palletize the donated books for shipment.

The 40-foot shipping containers are purchased by Second Wind Foundation, then loaded with the pallets, and shipped via the Port of Houston for delivery to Rotarians in the other countries.  The books are then given to teachers, schools, and libraries for free, and  the containers are then converted into libraries or clinics.

THE 40-FOOT STEEL SHIPPING CONTAINERS ARE ALSO RECYCLED!
In addition to the books, the 40-foot steel shipping containers used for exporting the books are also donated to the local Rotary club in the community in each country. The Rotarians transform them into medical clinics, community centers, libraries, etc. to help support the local community.
 
Shown below is the interior and exterior of a 4-foot container that was converted into a library in Swaziland.