Contact Information

Telephone: 520-398-6451
Email: Ally@makewayforbooks.org
Website: http://makewayforbooks.org/

Seventeen years ago, Make Way for Books’ founder Dr. Mary Jan Bancroft answered a newspaper listing to read to four-year-olds at a preschool in Tucson. Mary Jan found that this center did not have age-appropriate, quality picture books. Deciding to explore this need further, Mary Jan found that most of the childcare centers serving economically-disadvantaged children had few to zero quality books for young children. That same year, Mary Jan founded Make Way for Books (MWFB) to meet this incredible need and began providing books to under-resourced sites and offering early literacy workshops for educators and parents. Today, MWFB has provided services to nearly 300 preschools and childcare centers. Each year, MWFB serves more than 30,000 children and families and 700 educators.

Volunteer Opportunities in the Green Valley/Sahuarita/Amado Area:

Blue Book House Delivery Volunteers

Blue Book House delivery volunteers make monthly deliveries of gently-used books to social services agencies, health clinics, and non-profit organizations participating in the Blue Book House Project. The Blue Book House Project makes books available for families to look at while waiting for services and then take books home to keep. This is a great opportunity for volunteers looking for a small, flexible time commitment, as volunteers stop by the office once a month to pick up their deliveries. We have a few sites in need of a devoted book delivery volunteer!! Book pickup and delivery can only be done during the week and during the day during normal business hours.

Complete our online application and we will contact you soon.

Important note: Volunteers need to be able to lift and carry a box of about 50 books and carry it from their car to a site and sometimes upstairs. We would also appreciate a commitment of delivering books once per month for at least 6 months.

Storytime Volunteers

Do you have experience working with young children in a group setting? Storytime Volunteers visit preschools and childcare centers weekly to share books, songs, and puppets with toddlers and preschool-age children in whole and small group settings. Volunteers help make books come alive and provide engaging interactions around books. Make Way for Books has an extensive library of age-appropriate books, puppets, story kits, as well as training to support volunteers in sharing books with children in our community. Placement is based on the availability and experience of the volunteer.

Complete our online application and we will contact you soon!