Cornerstone: A Is for Auction, B Is for Book

You can tell a lot about a person by what they read.

That's what our Exec VP Kathi Rose was thinking when she proposed holding BG's first annual book sale.

This is a great example of how to engage your coworkers in your new (or old... I mean, er, seasoned) CSR program.  Here's how we attacked it:

• Ask your coworkers to bring in used books that they:

1. have read
2. were going to toss (into a recycling can, of course!) but just never got around to it and/or
3. can no longer fit on their burgeoning bookshelves

• Take a pointer from the ballparks!
• There's something to be said for having a captive audience... hence bathroom advertising!
• Yeah, we know, a lot of times we really hate that advertising, but when it is for a good cause then you can't help feel good about reading it (summoning those heart-wrenching, donate-to-this-or-that commercials on TV... who can get mad at puppies... I mean, really...)

• Arrange the books in the breakroom (or some other social place)
• The more books that they see, the more likely they are to bring in some of their own

• Don't forget the name cards
• Arguably the best part of this event is looking at what people brought, so arrange the books in piles by former owner
• Curious people will spend more time looking over the available titles
• Be careful what you ask for... I am certainly rethinking a few of my donated texts that received some, er, company "acclaim"...

• A dollar for a dollar
• Double the collection by selling the used books for a dollar and have the company to match the total sale
• Your coworkers will think they got a great deal on some paper treasures and you'll help build your internal brand

•  Give the leftover books to a good cause
• Rather than recycling the books that didn't sell, give them to a worthy non-profit
• We chose The Reading Tree because:
1. Their main focus is on literacy issues in America and worldwide
2. The books go to school libraries in low-income communities, after school programs or, if they can't be used, are properly recycled
3. They have convenient receptacles all over town because those books can get really heavy, really fast (we can't all have superhuman strength!)

Insider's secret: I picked up...

Cover of Night, by Elie Wiesel

I couldn't believe that I had not read this before, so I blazed through this soul-ripping book in a day.  (Okay, okay, it's only 100 pages or so, but the content is very heavy.)  I highly recommend this book and am looking forward to reading more of Elie Wiesel.


For the love of research...