On May 1, 2024, the Chinese American Association of Cambridge (CAAC) kicked off its 4th AAPI Book Drive, marking the start of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.
Support the Drive The fundraising period runs from May 2024 through February 2025. Every dollar raised will go toward purchasing new books by AAPI authors, which will be donated to schools in Cambridge. Donations are accepted via PayPal, Venmo, and Zelle. Visit our donation page for further details on how to contribute.
Highlights from Past Book Drives
Since 2021, CAAC has held three AAPI book drives, raising a total of $26,332 and donating over 1,900 books:
- 2021-2022 School Year: Raised $12,374 and donated 955 books to 33 schools in Cambridge and Somerville. (CPS instagram post)
- 2022-2023 School Year: Raised $5,538.62:
- $4,341.66 for Cambridge, donating 270 books across 17 CPS schools.
- $1,241.31 for Somerville, with funds currently being processed for donation by our partner, the Somerville Asian Family Network (SAFN).
- 2023-2024 School Year: Raised $8,419.94, donating 702 books and sponsoring a talk by author Kelly Yang for all 4th and 5th graders in CPS schools. (CPS facebook and instagram posts)
Acknowledgments
Our heartfelt thanks to individual donors and corporate/university sponsors, including:
- Sumiao Hunan Kitchen (sponsor of the 2nd and 3rd drives)
- MIT (2nd and 3rd drives)
- Splice Realty – Park Hou Group (1st and 3rd drives)
- UCA Community Foundation
- Dr. Hao Wang
- Moderna ASPIRE
- Pfizer and Global Asian Alliance
- Google Cambridge
- Sanofi
Details of the 3rd AAPI Book Drive for CPS
- Funds Raised: $8,419.94 (including $3,619.94 from individual donors and $4,800 from sponsors)
- Transaction Fees: $61.26
- Somerville Funding Pool: $400, added to a total pool of $1,641.31 for Somerville AAPI book donations
- Carryover from 2022-2023 Drive: $59.22
- Book Purchases:
- 222 books ordered on Amazon: $2,534.40
- 100 copies of Finally Heard by Kelly Yang, supporting her author visit: $1,519.20
- $3,964.30 allocated to CPS librarians for 380 AAPI books across 17 schools
No admin fees were taken from donations; our operational fund covered administrative expenses like bookplate materials.
As below is the bookplate that has been or will be applied to each book we donated/sponsored in this book drive.
Special Event: Kelly Yang’s Visit As part of the drive, CAAC sponsored an author visit by Kelly Yang, author of the Front Desk series, on February 27, 2024. Using $1,519.20 from the funds, we purchased 100 copies of Finally Heard to support this event. “Kids are clamoring to read her books across the city. We had 446 students and teachers viewing the live stream,” said Sarah T. Novogrodsky, Director of Library Media Services.
Feedback and Impact CAAC’s book donations have received enthusiastic responses and recognition across school libraries, amplifying the visibility and impact of AAPI voices in our community.
Thank you for helping us make a lasting difference!
Received a thank you card from CPSD
Fundraising status of the current book drive (4th, 2024/2025)