Social: power to the people

We've been thinking about some people we're proud to know. People like John Wood, the founder of Room to Read. John quit Microsoft in 1998. Eight years later, he’s building libraries in rural villages in Nepal with the "scalability of Starbucks and the compassion of Mother Theresa." John has written a book about his journey called Leaving Microsoft to Change the World.





Environmental: love your mother

One book that really got us thinking was The Ecology of Commerce, by Paul Hawken. Paul argues that a true economy mimics ecology in its circular no-waste systems and healthy fecundity of niches. In a perfect world, we'd package your books in edible bamboo pouches and load them into Willie Nelson's biodiesel bus, where he'd hand deliver them with a song. We’re not quite there, but we've got some things we think you'll like.



Economic: true accounting

As this is the end of the page, it's a good time to talk about our last bottom line.



We understand the importance of running a profitable enterprise. But while most businesses answer only to their shareholders, we answer equally to all of our key stakeholders: our employees, our customers, our literacy partners, our investors and the environment.

They provide real time statistics for the amount of money they have raised, and the number of books they've saved from landfills. At the time of publication of this post, $7,549,897.98 in funds was raised for literacy programs, and 31,860,486 books were saved from landfills.



As someone who advocates the power of stories and their impact on social justice, I am truly inspired by what they are doing. Take a look around their Web site, they buy used books, and encourage people to set up book drives.



You are reading this because you have been taught to read. Imagine your world if that never happened. You understand the power of the written word, and the impact that that words have in the course of life. Now thanks to BetterWorldBooks you can honor the storied legacy of literacy by sharing it with those who lack access to it, while contributing to the environment and supporting the success of a social business. After all, the power of the written word has been a force in the history of social change, and now thanks to the internet, it can and will continue to do so in a very progressive way.