What to do with old textbooks? Read, reuse, recycle!

With the start of every new academic session comes back the same worry for the parents – what to do with the old books of their kids? Whether to give them to scrap dealer or exchange them at book store while buying new books to save some bucks.

But what if your hassle could be turned into a help for others.

With this in mind, Saket Jain, a resident of Rishabh Cloud 9, a high rise in Indirapuram, has started a noble initiative wherein residents can drop off their old books for the needy ones.

The initiative, which started about a week back, has been given a big thumbs up by the residents of the society. “We are building a book reserve at the reception area of the F tower wherein people can donate their book and anyone, especially the underprivileged children, can take them,” told Jain.

“The initiative has received an overwhelming response. We have received more than a hundred books so far. I have even got so many thank you notes from people who picked up the books,” said a beaming Jain.

This charitable initiative hasn’t been limited for the residents, as anyone from outside the society can also drop and pick up books.

“In case people aren’t able to directly contact me, they can drop the books at the society gates. Similarly, to check out the book reserve, they can either directly contact me or ask the guards,” he added.

The best part of the initiative, says Jain, is anonymity. “Generally, people feel embarrassed while taking old books for their children,” he said.

Speaking upon how this idea struck him, Jain said, “Recently when I had gone out to buy books for my son who is in sixth grade, I wasn’t able to get hold of two books as they were unavailable. Fortunately, I found them in a bundle of old books which a colleague of my wife had dropped over at our home while she was relocating to another city.”

“I realized that it could be a helpful initiative if the whole community comes forward. It will be especially helpful for the underprivileged children who cannot afford books,” he added.

Jain also said that apart from helping the needy ones, the practice of reusing old books helps the environment. “It will be our individual contribution to save trees. It may not be something big but still it works for a greater cause,” Jain added.

So, what’s the biggest hurdle in the success of such initiatives. “It’s the children’s and their parents’ love for new, shiny books. I also faced a lot of resistance from my son but then I used the age-old saying –sharing is caring. I told him that to produce one book, two trees are cut and this will be his way of showing care for the environment,” Jain said.

The initiative will go on till April 15, after that Jain said he we will ask schools in the locality to distribute among needy students or else use it for library.

“We are worried that the books might get stolen and or sold to scrap dealers as they are kept in open. Luckily, nothing like that has happened so far. I have asked the guards to not allow people to take books in bundles,” Jain said.

Jain said that he and other residents of his society have forwarded request to other societies in Ahinsa Khand II to ask their househelps to pick books from the reserve.