• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About Me
    • Connect With Me
    • Policies
    • Testimonials
    • (Closed) Request A Review
    • (Closed) Beta Reading Requests
  • Book Review Archive
    • Book Review Archive
    • Audiobook Review Archive
    • Spooky Children’s Book Review Archive
  • Resources
    • A Running List of 2023 Horror Book Releases
    • A Running List of 2024 Horror Book Releases
    • Interview Archive
    • List of Horror Author Online Bookshops
    • List of Horror Publishers That Sell Books Directly
    • Podcast Recs
    • Referral Links
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Bluesky
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Goodreads
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest

Erica Robyn Reads

a horror book review blog

Recent Posts

A Bleak Remedy by D.S. LaLonde | Book Review

Book cover of Ushers by Joe Hill - featuring a brightly colored winged beings silhouette

Ushers by Joe Hill | Short Story Review

Interview with Stephen Kozeniewski

[Feature] What is Altrusa Portland Gives Books?

November 30, 2017      Erica Robyn      4 Comments

A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a lovely dinner to learn about an organization called The Altrusa Club of Portland, ME. And oh my gosh, did I learn! I was scribbling down notes just as quickly as I could throughout the presentation!

I was so blown away by one of their programs, called Altrusa Portland Gives Books, that I just had to talk about it here!

What is Altrusa Portland Gives Books?

This is just one of the many service-related projects the organization runs. Altrusa accomplishes its goal, getting books into the hands of children, in a number of ways.

Booksgiving
Altrusa Portland has held an event called Booksgiving for nonprofit organizations and local teachers. At this event, each attendee receives twenty-five books, which they can then keep for their school libraries or give to kids in need.

Books-A-Million Book Drive
You may have seen book drives in your local area before. I even wrote about one a few weeks ago. In this case, Altrusa Portland partners with Books-A-Million in South Portland, Maine and asks customers to purchase a book and donate it to Altrusa. Books-A-Million will offer recommendations, but customers can donate any book they like. These drives generally occur mid-November to mid-December, but some years they have also done a summer drive.

Holiday Gifting
One snag that Altrusa Portland ran into was that schools don’t allow donations of holiday-themed books. To get around this, they collect the books, wrap them in paper, mark them with colored dots to indicate age group, and donate them to local nonprofits that can then hand out the books during their holiday festivities.

ABC (Altrusa Books & Children) 
Every school year, Altrusa Portland visits local schools to read to kids. At the end of the reading session, the children are each given a book to keep!

Summer Learning Program
In the summertime, Altrusa Portland hosts a Summer Learning Day Picnic in Deering Oaks. At this event, they set up tables and let children choose a book to keep.

But that’s not all they do on the literary front! Altrusa Portland also donates gently used books to:

  • Long Creek Youth Development Center
  • Cumberland County Jail
  • Windham Correctional Center

Thanks for reading!
What an incredible organization, right?!

If you’d like to learn more about Altrusa Portland Gives Books you can visit their website by clicking here.
SaveSave
SaveSave

Here are a few more recent posts you might like:

  • A Bleak Remedy by D.S. LaLonde | Book Review
  • Ushers by Joe Hill | Short Story Review
  • Interview with Stephen Kozeniewski

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Angela Lawrence says

    November 30, 2017 at 12:47 pm

    Wow, what a great organization! I love that they have so many different ways to get books into the hands of children and others who may need them.

    Reply
    • Erica Hatch says

      November 30, 2017 at 1:09 pm

      Right?! They're amazing!

      Reply
  2. Barb says

    November 30, 2017 at 8:54 pm

    Sounds great. How neat that they help in so many ways. Thanks for sharing info about them!

    Reply
    • Erica Robyn says

      November 30, 2017 at 9:13 pm

      Of course! 🙂 I was so excited to learn about them myself, I just had to share!! Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to Erica Robyn Reads!

Erica Robyn of Erica Robyn Reads
Hello! I’m Erica, a Mainer living in New Hampshire who runs on hot tea, good books, and loud music. Join me as I seek out amazing horror tales and help support the indie horror community!
 

Subscribe via Email

Loading

Search This Blog

Browse By Category

An Easy Guide to Locating Horror Reviews Without Losing Your Mind created by Lori of Barks At The Ghouls
Featured Book Reviewer
Shirley's Book Blogger List
Ultimate List of the Best Book Review Blogs by Kindlepreneur

Copyright © 2025 Erica Robyn Reads