Thanks for your help

I would like to thank the people of Warwickshire for their generosity with Oxfam’s book donation drive. We had set ourselves a national target of an additional 330,000 book donations on top of what we usually receive in three weeks, and I am pleased to say that, with your help, Oxfam received in total about 417,300 books!

With the books that you helped us to gather, Oxfam will be able to raise well over £500,000 for our humanitarian work.

When you consider that the sale of three books can provide a Liberian child with school supplies, and five books will fund an adult literacy class and 16 animal vaccinations protecting livestock from disease, you can see that your book donations are far more valuable than merely their retail price, because that money can be used to provide somebody else with a bright future.

Of course, our need for donations didn’t finish with the book drive, and Oxfam shops and bookshops will always welcome any books that you no longer have need of.

Many of the books donated will be put to their best use in Bookfest, which starts on July 2 and runs for two weeks. In participating Oxfam shops across the county there will be all sorts of events, exhibitions and promotions, largely around the theme of local history.

So, if you have an interest in Warwickshire’s fascinating past then Bookfest is the festival for you! Keep an eye on your local Oxfam shop to find out more. - Abigail Taylor, Oxfam, Midlands.