Cover Labels for this challenge!
More Cover Labels!
Label for the last page!
BCID label - large
BCID label - small



READ - Respond in Earnest Action for Darfur Challenge

Since 2003, the Sudanese government and a government-backed militia called the Janjaweed have led a campaign of violence, displacement, rape, and murder of the civilian population in the Darfur region of Sudan. Over 400,000 have been killed, and 2.5 million are displaced. In 2004, the U.S. government declared the situation to be genocide. Every day 500 more refugees die.

Now, we challenge other BookCrossers to help raise awareness of the ongoing genocide in Darfur and get involved. You are encouraged to set up events, or attend any of those which are already scheduled from coast to coast. Some events build awareness or educate, others are for lobbying government leaders to demand they take action now to implement economic sanctions and ensure effective peacekeeping.

Releasing a book with a "READ" label is a simple but effective action you can take against genocide. We want to release as many READ books as possible to bring attention to the crisis in the Darfur region. Especially, when you see Darfur related events in your area, please make every effort to attend, and take along at least one book to release. On your book label or in your journal entry, please enclose a personal reflection on this crisis, or maybe a prayer for peace for this region. To call greater attention to steps one can take to help end the genocide, you can enclose a bookmark like these BookCrossing READ Challenge labels: HERE, please see top for more. Also, please make sure that the labels are fully expanded - we don't want illegible labels being pasted onto books, now do we?!

Check regularly for events in your area (or set up your own). These links may help:
• Save Darfur Coalition
• Genocide Intervention Network
• STAND: Students Take Action Now Darfur
• Stop Genocide Now

"The term 'Genocide' was coined by a jurist named Raphael Lemkin in 1944 by combining the Greek word 'genos' (race) with the Latin word 'cide' (killing). Genocide as defined by the United Nations in 1948 means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, including: (a) killing members of the group (b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group (c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or part (d) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group (e) forcibly transferring children of the group to another group."
Click here for more info!

• Bosnia-Herzegovina: 1992-1995 - 200,000 Deaths
• Rwanda: 1994 - 800,000 Deaths
• Pol Pot in Cambodia: 1975-1979 - 2,000,000 Deaths
• Nazi Holocaust: 1938-1945 - 6,000,000 Deaths
• Rape of Nanking: 1937-1938 - 300,000 Deaths
• Stalin's Forced Famine: 1932-1933 - 7,000,000 Deaths
• Armenians in Turkey: 1915-1918 - 1,500,000 Deaths

Those who want to share their love of reading with those in Africa who are less fortunate, may do so through Books for Africa.

When you register books to help my challenge, please consider using this in your journal entry:

Released for READ - Respond in Earnest Action for Darfur Challenge to support the refugees in the Darfur, Sudan region.

We thank you fellow Bookcrossers for your compassionate support, remembering, reading, and releasing books as you continue to take action to help these refugees in the Sudan region.

We offer our prayers to those currently suffering from this genocide, as well as to anyone who has connections to genocide or who knows someone whose life was affected by such atrocity. We wish all of you peace. Thanks for your support.

Please feel free to copy/paste one of these images onto your website or bookshelf.

www.bookcrossing.com/---/goldem1217" target="_blank">i149.photobucket.com/---/READbookcrossingpromo.jpg" border="0" alt="READpromo.erg">

www.bookcrossing.com/---/goldem1217" target="_blank">i149.photobucket.com/---/READbookcrossingpromo2.jpg" border="0" alt="READpromo.erg">

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The Reading for Relief Katrina/Rita Challenge ended, December 31, 2005, with over 7,300 books donated. Thank you to everyone for the compassion you showed through your generous donations and kind support!



Help For Hurricane Victims: Reading for Relief* Project
12/21/05 Hurrah! Latest book donation count: 6212!


Click Here to Donate Books to Hurricane Victims

Hello everyone!

We want to establish BookCrossing Zones in shelters in the San Antonio, Texas area for the many people affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Some people will be displaced for more than six months! Our goal is to set at least two thousand books into circulation through this service project. Our mission: to provide relief to these displaced people, including shelter-bound folks and children placed in orphanages, by providing them with free literature.

This challenge was begun as part of a Gold Award project for two Senior Girl Scouts, goldlis and picky88.

Through this effort, we hope to share both our love of literacy, and provide a greatly desired service to help relieve the pain of these people's suffering.

We are currently organizing collection points at local businesses. To date, the following locations have been approved to receive donations:

Reading for Relief Project
The Law Offices of Ed Goldner
1616 San Pedro Avenue
San Antonio, TX USA 78212
(MAIL or DROP-OFF)

Reading for Relief Project
St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church
4201 DeZavala Rd.
San Antonio, TX 78249
(DROP-OFFS ONLY please.)

Reading for Relief Project
Girl Scouts of the San Antonio Area
10443 Gulfdale
San Antonio, TX 78216
(DROP-OFFS ONLY please.)

Reading for Relief Project
Dollar General
12930 Bandera Rd.
Helotes, Texas 78023
(DROP-OFFS ONLY please.)

Thank you for your generous donations. We'll make journal entries when they arrive!!

Books have been pouring in from all kinds of anonymous sources, but we'd also like to mention the BCers who have revealed their identities :) - sanepsycho, sleepymom, scavok, chryso, dolls727, terrafreaky, DrSlump612, Leader1978, Cass01, doggirl97, vannessave, megemmom, rebeccalyr, susieq46, glosylvia, bethieb, nyisutter, Adia415, and tyvmdear. We greatly appreciate your support!

Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions, or would like to volunteer.

Happy BookCrossing!
goldlis & picky88

May your shelf never be empty;
May your heart always be full;
May you never lose your place,
In life or in your book.
May your friends list grow.
And may the next story always
Be more enchanting than the last

*TITLE CHANGE NOTE: To make this more politically correct, it was recommended we not refer to the evacuees as "refugees," so we changed the title to incorporate "relief." Our mission, of course, will remain the same; to provide relief to these displaced people, including shelter bound folks and children placed in orphanages, by providing them with free literature.

This book was donated with love for evacuees of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita through the Reading for Relief BookCrossing Challenge.

Reading for Relief is a Girl Scout Gold Award project begun by goldlis and picky88 on September 10, 2005, in an effort to provide support for Hurricane Katrina and Rita evacuees taking refuge in San Antonio, Texas. Before the project closed December 31, 2005, over 7,300 books were generously donated toward this challenge by BookCrossers all over the world!! Thank you, BookCrossers, for your gift which will keep giving!