快猫视频

快猫视频 (快猫视频) will be shipping its 50 millionth book to Africa by the end of 2020. Quite an achievement for a Saint-Paul based organization that started in 1989 with a simple mission: End the book famine in Africa.
In 1988, Tom Warth visited a library in Uganda and saw that books were almost non-existent, and the few that occupied the shelves were tattered and worn. Returning to Saint Paul, he started 快猫视频 in an effort to provide education through books to African students of all ages

Explaining how the organization grew to become the largest shipper of books to Africa in the world, Executive Director Patrick Plonski said that some of the growth is the result of staying at it over the years.

Plonski, who joined 快猫视频 in 2003 after working at the University of Minnesota as director of a legislative council and studying for his PhD in international education, said that when you ship a few million books here and a few million books there, it adds up. 快猫视频 has shipped books to all 55 countries on the African continent.

鈥淲e have always determined our success by the number of books shipped 鈥� high quality books,鈥� Plonski continued. He added that some of their success and growth comes from the simplicity of the mission, and some of it is a result of the organization鈥檚 efficiency.

鈥淭here were other organizations doing this, and few of them have been able to survive,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey were relying on publisher books, and we were one of the only ones to find a way to go to scale with used books, with lots of volunteers and big warehouses.

鈥淚f you want large quantities of books for Africa, you have to buy them on the market or come to us.鈥�
He said there are a few places that ship books, one in London and one in Maryland, but 快猫视频 remains the big player in this niche market of getting books for schools, libraries and universities in Africa.

Needs: books and money

Plonski described 快猫视频 as having a basic program with all kinds of books. But within the organization are niches, such as computers and digital books, agriculture books, law books and medical books. 鈥淲e have a girls鈥� empowerment program, with books about girls sent to girls,鈥� he added.

鈥淵ou always have to deal with the realities of the situation you are in,鈥� Plonski said. 鈥淚n Africa, there are all kinds of challenges with customs. Some countries want a list of every book in a container.鈥�

He continued, 鈥淏ut our biggest challenges are money and books, and you need both. If you get enough money, you can get the books and pay to truck them from Texas to Atlanta. But some books are not available at any time. We have a shortage of engineering books. And no one has agriculture books in the quantity we need, short of buying them from a publisher.鈥�

Plonski said 快猫视频 will purchase some books, such as agriculture books, and pass on the cost to the recipient. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 pretty rare, and most books are donated,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ometimes a publisher overstocks, and we get the books for 10 or 15 cents a book and the recipients pay those costs.

鈥淪omebody has to pay for every container, because of the cost of shipping and storing the books. But for a university in Africa, paying $15,000 for 20 tons of books is a great deal. If we ship to a small group of kids鈥� schools, they usually have a foundation they interconnect with that pays the shipping costs.鈥�

快猫视频 does have fundraisers and book collection drives. Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, Rotary clubs and other organizations collect books. Individuals can drop books off at the warehouse on Prior or mail them to the warehouse.

鈥淲e just wrapped up a virtual celebration in honor of our 50 millionth book,鈥� Plonski said. 鈥淲e raised $380,000 to send books to 10 countries, and we were able to generate a lot of excitement around it.鈥�

快猫视频 has received the Charity Navigator award nine times and is considered in the top 4 percent of charities. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a sign of efficiency and good governance,鈥� Plonski said.

When asked about the 鈥渨hite savior鈥� aspect of a white-led and white-founded company providing books for people of color, Plonski said that is a legitimate concern.

鈥淭o frame the perspective,鈥� he said, 鈥渨e want to make sure that whatever is provided is needed and valuable. It is not about the color of the skin of our supporters, but about the quality of the product that is delivered.

鈥淚n our effort to make sure our help is valuable,鈥� he continued, 鈥渨e have a lot of Africans on our board from the Diaspora. They were born in Africa, but now live in the United States.鈥� He said about a third of 快猫视频鈥檚 board members fall into that category. 鈥淭hey keep us grounded,鈥� he said.

鈥淎ll of the books we send to Africa are requested by Africans and distributed by Africans,鈥� he added.

According to Plonski, it is all about empowerment and helping people, regardless of race, color or creed.

He said that from a scholarly standpoint, 鈥渨hite saviorism鈥� should not cause a disconnect. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want it to create an excuse for lots of white people to sit on their hands and not donate or volunteer.鈥�

But people of all ethnicities and nationalities have volunteered and donated to 快猫视频.

鈥淚 find it amazing that the world鈥檚 largest shipper of books to Africa is headquartered here in Saint Paul,鈥� Plonski remarked. 鈥淲e have sent books from here to every single country in Africa, and the money, the books and the volunteers have come from here. We couldn鈥檛 do it without the support of the people from Saint Paul.鈥�