Where to Donate your Romances

Every now and again we discuss women’s shelters, Goodwill, libraries and other places that eagerly accept your used and gently worn romance novels. I’m always on the lookout for places to send my never ending pile of romances, so I was thankful to Moreena, who wrote me with a great location that might need some romances in stock:

I know occasionally you all are looking to pass on books, and I’m thinking that maybe some of your readers are, too. I usually give mine to the library for book sales or to Goodwill, but I was recently in the hospital with my 8-year-old daughter (liver transplant #3 *shudder*) and noticed that the supply of books for adults at the Kohl’s House for transplant families was running low. I thought of writing to you because on our last stay I bonded with a gigantically pregnant woman over our love of Nora Roberts for de-stressing reading distraction. She was spending the last few weeks of her pregnancy at the Kohl’s House since her baby was going to need to go straight to the NICU at Children’s Memorial. Stress!

 

The Kohl’s House provides living space for families of transplant families, who frequently spend months away from home during their child’s surgery, recovery, and follow-up care. When I was there this last time, they had quite a few kids’ books, but their selection of books for adults had dwindled to just one small bookcase. The Kohl’s House encourages families to take the books home if they haven’t yet finished (or if they just fell in love with it), so it’s not surprising that the collection has shrunk. In fact, it’s a good thing.

You don’t have to send a giant box full of books, but if you feel like dropping a few into the mail here is the address:

Kohl’s House
2422 N. Orchard
Chicago, Illinois 60614

I also checked with Michelle (manager) about any other wishes they might have, and she said that they are short on DVDs (kids or adult), and would also like VCRs as they just received a huge donation of VHS tapes, but only have one VCR for the house (each floor has a community TV, and a few rooms also have their own TVs).

Moreena, my biggest and strongest Smart Bitch wishes for your daughter and her new liver (Hi, new liver!) and my deepest thanks for a great opportunity. If you have ideas of places looking for fine, fabulous romances where they’ll do the greatest good, let me know. Or, fill a box and ship it over to Kohl’s. Happy Thanksgiving, y’all.

ETA: Moreena asked me to give folks the heads up that, while this may be an obvious thing, books should be as clean as possible because the folks undergoing care are being suppressed – in the immunological sense, not the Monty Python sense. So be conscious of the condition of the books as pertains to hair, mold, dust, etc. And as always, thank you for your generosity.

 

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  1. ev says:

    Awesome idea! I need to check here to see if our local transplant hospital has the same type of setup for the families.

    Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!

  2. Miranda says:

    Probably almost any hospital would take them. I donated books to the Duke Cancer Hospital. People often have to overnight for treatment, and may have family with them.

    Moreena, best wishes to your daughter and you.

  3. Marsha says:

    I can never say no to a request to fill a bookshelf.  Books on their way as soon as I return from Tgiving.

    Moreena – all my best to you, your daughter and everyone sharing your journey with you.

  4. Leah says:

    Great idea!  I was wondering what to do with some of my books that are perfectly good, but are so well-represented on paperback swap that no one is ever going to request them.  Thanks!

    Moreena, many prayers for you and your daughter.

  5. Elizabeth Wadsworth says:

    This sounds like an excellent idea—thanks.  Moreena, best wishes to you and your daughter.

  6. Kim says:

    What a great idea. I have two paper boxes full of books that I planned to donate to Goodwill, but I like this idea better. We have a Ronald McDonald house and I never thought about giving books to them (or the hospital, although I regularly send magazines there).

  7. Silver James says:

    Moreena, best wishes and healing thoughts and prayers winging toward you and your daughter!

    Another place to consider donating books is your local VA hospital or facility. More and more female military members are being served there, and the families/spouses are younger, too.  I would also think that any “House” associated with a children’s or other hospital could use a new supply of books.

    Nice way to start the “Giving Season”, Sarah! Kudos to you and Smart Bitches every where!

    And while I’m here, I’m going to mention that the latest book from one of my favorite romance writers, Julie Leto, ships out today from Amazon. Phantom’s Touch has been advertised here and I can’t wait to get my copy!

  8. Randi says:

    Now I know what to do with my VCR. It’s just been sitting around for 5 years, staring at me, pleading with me to do something with it. Now I know…;)

    making95: Sorry, I am NOT copying 95 movies onto VHS.

  9. Julie Leto says:

    I just sent some items to Kohl’s house.  What a great idea to donate books and other items.  Moreena, you are in my prayers.

  10. Julie Leto says:

    Silver!  Thanks so much for the plug!

  11. MaryKate says:

    Chiming in with another place to give. I have a friend who is going through chemo due to breast cancer. She said to me the other day, “They’ve got, like, nothing to read there, and chemo takes a while and it’s boring! I wish I had something fun to read while I was getting treatment that it would be OK to take with me.”

    “No problem,” says I. The next day I stopped by the out patient chemo center at my local hospital with two bags full of romance novels. They were thrilled!

  12. Silver James says:

    Julie! You’re welcome! And I’m serious. I loved Phantom Pleasures and have eagerly been anticipating Phantom’s Touch

  13. Annmarie says:

    I’ve been sending my books to the women’s prison and nursing homes.  These are all great ideas.  I’ll now check with the local hospital as well.

    Good luck Moreena to you and yours.

  14. I just donated a TON of books, but I’ve got some author copies lying around that are brand new and have been stored in the box in which they were shipped to me from Samhain.  A full set of those is on its way, and I’ll definitely be going through my “keeper” boxes to see if any more can be culled!

  15. Oh, and I forgot to say that your daughter and her new liver are in my thoughts and prayers!

  16. Moreena says:

    Thank you so much! And, yes, most hospitals have Ronald McDonald Houses or Kohl’s House-type places for families. It’s super handy to have books there because typically those places are for families who are a long way from home and in for a long haul. Those long stays are looking better already!

  17. netti says:

    another place that can use them would be the Ronald McDonald houses spread throughout the country. We had to make use of one April of this year, and that’s definitely a great place to send your books.

  18. sara says:

    That’s wonderful! Thank you so much for the suggestion. I copyedit for Harlequin on occasion and whenever they send me a manuscript they send me a finished book in the same line to compare it to, so I have a whole stack of Steeple Hill romances (those are for folks who love Jesus a whole lot). Will send them off very soon!

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  20. Another great article where you are providing another necessary part of human life…This is where your exception stays…Life consists of with lots of inner and outer elements, and romance is one of those regular elements. None can say that he is out of any ROMANCE!

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