February 5th
Rally the Troops!
SPRING SEMESTER
During the first meeting with your student organization, bring up your plans for the book drive. Ask your
team to continue their commitment. Does anyone
have any suggestions where the drive could be
improved from last semester? If any new members
joined, tell them that this would be a great way to
get involved (make them feel obligated since they’re
new). Tell them to check out the student resource
center for more information.
February 19th
Strategize.
At your next meeting, touch base on where
everyone’s at for the drive. Are some people flaking
out? Are others willing to get more involved? Start
strategizing and set a goal higher than last semester. Once again, this is a good time to order supplies.
You’ll want at least one collection bin per high traffic area. Do you need the stock 500-book shipping
materials, or do you anticipate needing more boxes
this time? Gauge your supply order around your
goals and expectations.
March 1st
Recruit Campus Administration.
If you established a good relationship with campus
leaders last semester, ask for their involvement
again. We provide informative e-mail templates for
you to send to professors, administration, sustainability coordinators, bookstores, resident advisers,
and athletic directors. If you need approval to place
your collection bins somewhere, these people can
help remove obstacles from your way. Start the
conversation now so you don’t get hung-up later!
March 15th
Spread the word!
We have student e-mail templates, social media
materials, and press releases to send to the school
newspaper! If you and your team start a conversation on campus (and make announcements in your
classes), your school is more likely to get involved!
Don’t underestimate department chairs and secretaries—they can send mass e-mails out to entire
demographics of majors and get you exponential
exposure!
April 3rd
Try running a midterm book drive.
You should have received your bins and marketing
posters. Promote your drive around campus and
see if people have excess books they are trying to
recycle. Be sure to check out the CAMPUS PROMOTION page on our resource center for additional
downloads and materials. The weeks before and
after Thanksgiving break are when a lot of course
material goes in the rear-view mirror on the syllabus. If students can’t sellback textbooks that they
already used for a midterm research paper, donating
them is a happy alternative.
April 13th
Prepare for the Book Harvest.
May 10th
The Book Haul.
Discuss the midterm book collection with your team.
What worked and what didn’t work last semester?
This would also be a good time to strategize a
system for gathering books. Since there will be
bins located at different places on campus, do you
want to designate team members to bins? Have you
established a “home base” to store the mountain of
books you’re poised to collect?
Gather all of the books from the bins around
campus. Bring them to a location where they can
be packed into the shipping boxes. Enlist friends
and comrades in your student organization to help
carry the books. Pack all the books neatly into their
boxes. Stand back and take a look at the physical
mass you’ve prevented from going into a landfill.
April 22nd
Bin deployment.
Some students prefer to set their bins out on day
one. Some prefer to put them out a week before
finals. Now is the time to start thinking about when
you want to set out your bins. Since every school
has different finals weeks, you’re the expert on what
date works best. Just try to get them set up before
the high volume of book returns. No matter what
you do, be sure to check on the bins regularly so
they don’t overflow.
May 1st
Prepare for Shipping.
You may not have embarked on your book collection
yet, but you’ll want to be prepared for shipping.
Inside the RUFIS student portal, there are all kinds
of reinforcement supplies. You can order additional
shipping boxes and get an idea of the shipping
process.
May 10th - 15th
Shipment.
Login to your RUFIS student portal. There you will
find printable shipping labels for a location that you
specify. All you have to do is tape the labels to the
boxes and schedule a date for them to be picked up.
May 21st
Mission Accomplished.
You’ve done it! Once your books make it to our
headquarters we will send you a confirmation
e-mail. You will be able to check the metrics and
results of your drive on the portal. Sit back this
summer and know that you’ve given back.
Summertime
Legacy.
Do you plan on running a book drive next year? If
you are graduating, promote one of your teammates
to be your successor?