Come volunteer with us! Enjoy our vibrant warehouse, build community, and help us make sure every child in Portland has access to quality books! During our 2 hour volunteer shifts, you will clean and restore community donated books which will later be distributed to local kids.
Individual and Community Group Volunteering
For individuals and small groups (less than 6), head over to Hands On Greater Portland (www.handsonportland.org) to sign up for one of our volunteer shifts.
If you have a community group (fellow nonprofit, service organization, or group of friends) from 6-20 people, please fill out this brief form and a staff member will follow up to schedule your group cleaning session. Scheduling for groups is always open and flexible on a rolling basis.
Each year, our Book Bank welcomes hundreds of company volunteer groups which translates to thousands of community members who generously spend 2 hours with their colleagues cleaning some of the over 80,000 gently-used books that are donated each year and distributed to kids throughout the Portland Metro Area. Our book cleaning program is a premier and popular group volunteer opportunity in Portland, often booked months out.
Planning Your Cleaning Session:
SMART suggests corporate groups make a cash contribution to keep books free for kids. It costs SMART $50 to provide a bundle of 10 refurbished and new books to one child.160 refurbished books from a two-hour book cleaning session coupled with a $1,000 cash donation provides 20 preschool children (one classroom) with individualized book bundles (including 2 new, inclusive titles that reflect the child’s identity; 8 restored books; and 1 packet of reading tools for caregivers).
Volunteer corporate group members often make a cash donation through company programs such as “Dollars for Doers,” “Dollar for Hour”, “Matching Time”, or “Grants for Time” as a way to increase their support of SMART Reading. Please check with your company representative to find out more.
If your company does not have one of these programs, consider requesting that your company make a financial contribution on your group’s behalf,organize a book drive at your company, or contribute through our Amazon Wish List! Taking one or all of these actions bolsters our ability to purchase the supplies for book cleanings, purchase new books to fill gaps in selection, and coordinate more volunteer sessions.
Benefits of Giving:
While not required, most of our corporate partners make meaningful gifts ranging from $1,000 to $25,000+ so we can give even more books to kids who need them the most. In addition to knowing that your gift is helping kids across our communities, here are a few more benefits you and your company receive when you support SMART Reading:
Unlimited scheduled cleanings for your company groups of up to 20 people
Employee engagement and team building opportunities
Impact storytelling for your team
Increased visibility in the communities where your employees live and work
Photo opportunities and shoutouts on SMART’s social media channels
Additional opportunities to partner with SMART
To schedule a corporate group cleaning session, click here. To learn more about additional ways to support SMART, contact Amy McCormick Friesz at amccormick@smartreading.org.
Other Opportunities
There are multiple ways to get involved with the Children’s Book Bank at SMART Reading—organize a book drive, check out some of the existing programs below, or contact bookbank@smartreading.org with your own ideas!
Donate Supplies
We need various materials to help us clean and restore books. Contact bookbank@smartreading.org if you are interested in helping with a supplies donation. Deliver or ship all supplies to 1915 NE 7th Avenue, Portland, OR 97212.
Volunteer from home by sewing tote bags for book bundles! Check out our Tote Bag Instructablefor easy instructions for all ages and levels of sewing experience.
Book Delivery Drivers
Help deliver books to local elementary schools and community organizations! This is a great role for volunteers with limited or inconsistent availability looking for a one-off opportunity. Requirements for this role are a car with storage space, a driver’s license, and car insurance. Drivers must be 21 or older. Lifting heavy items (book bundles in tote bags or boxes of chapter books) is not a requirement—if you can, that’s great, but if not we can accommodate!
We usually schedule deliveries in the early afternoon (before 3PM) Mondays-Thursdays when schools are open. Sites sometimes offer to help transport books, but quite often you will do most or all of the lifting and transporting at the site (unless you require accommodations). We can provide a cart to help move items that will need to be returned at the end of the day. We are not currently able to offer reimbursements to volunteers for mileage.
If you’re interested in this volunteer opportunity, please email bookbank@smartreading.org to get scheduled!
What’s Your Talent?
Web design? Mural creation? Community organizing? We welcome your passion and skills! Please contact bookbank@smartreading.org to discuss how you can get involved.
Volunteering FAQs:
How do I sign up for a book cleaning session?
If you’d like to volunteer by yourself or with a small group of family, friends, or colleagues, please look for our volunteer opportunities posted on Hands On Greater Portland.
If you’d like to bring 6 or more people in to volunteer, please email bookbank@smartreading.org to arrange a time. We can only take up to 20 volunteers per session.
I love volunteering at the Book Bank and would love to get more involved, what are the next steps?
That’s wonderful! There are a variety of ways you can engage. Please email bookbank@smartreading.org for more information.
My child loves books and really wants to volunteer, how can I make this happen?
Excellent! We love to see kids involved in their community and you can help your child as young as 10 engage with the Book Bank in a variety of ways:
Sign up for one of our sessions posted to Hands On Greater Portland. Reserve your own special group for your child’s team, birthday or school community. Our volunteer model works best when adults and kids participate side by side. Please keep that in mind when building your group.
Volunteer from home by sewing tote bags for book bundles. Check out ourTote Bag Instructable for easy instructions for all ages and levels of sewing experience.
I’m a student, and I’ve been assigned service hours for school credit. What do I need to know before I contact your organization?
The very best way for you to complete your required hours is through our partnership with Hands On Greater Portland. Please look for our shifts on the Project Calendar under the tagline: Get Books To Kids.
All students under 18 attending Hands On sessions will need to bring along youth waivers for both Hands On and the Children’s Book Bank at SMART Reading. If you are 15 or older, you will be able to sign up for these shifts and attend these sessions alone. If you are under 15, you will need to bring along an adult.
You could also complete these hours by hosting a book drive in your community or sewing tote bags for book bundles. Check out ourTote Bag Instructable for easy instructions for all ages and levels of sewing experience.
We are not able to accommodate individual student volunteers outside of these opportunities.
Does my child need a waiver, and where can I find it?
You can find youth waivers for both the Book Bank and Hands On when you sign up through Hands On Portland.
I have court mandated service hours to complete. Can I complete these hours at the Children’s Book Bank at SMART Reading?
Absolutely! Individual volunteers are welcome to sign up for any of our shifts posted to Hands On Greater Portland.
I'm free for a few hours, can I come in?
We are unable to accommodate drop-in volunteering. It's important to ensure the quality of the books that we restore, and each volunteer receives cleaning instructions each time they attend.
Why was I asked to limit my team to 6 on Hands On Greater Portland?
We strive to cultivate an inclusive environment during the book cleaning sessions open to the larger community. Groups larger than 6 at these events quickly become the majority and can very unintentionally make others feel as if they’re intruding at the event. A size limit also very practically ensures that we have enough volunteers present at each shift to complete the necessary work in case something prevents an entire team from attending at the last minute. If you'd like to bring a larger group, reach out to bookbank@smartreading.org and we would be happy to host you!
Can you pack up books and supplies and bring a book cleaning event to my office?
We no longer offer offsite book cleaning sessions.
Can you come speak to my club or group?
We would be delighted to come speak if we can make it fit our schedule! Please reach out to bookbank@smartreading.org.
Would you like to table at our Volunteer Fair or Workplace Giving Fair?
We would be delighted to participate if we can make it fit our schedule. Please reach out to bookbank@smartreading.org with all the details.
I need my hours verified, what do I do?
Our volunteer group leaders are happy to sign your verification records at the end of each shift you attend. You can also print out your attendance records in your Hands On portal.
Can I bring an additional person to my Hands On session?
Everyone needs to be registered on Hands On Portland in order to attend. You can learn how to build a team or sign up for the wait-list here.
Can I do a book drive along with my volunteer session?
Absolutely! Please give us a heads up before your session.
I don’t see a time that works for my group as an available option, what do I do?
All of our available options on the form are kept current. So if this happens, we would not be able to accommodate your request. We hope to host more shifts as we grow so please check back often.
We Moved!
The Children's Book Bank at SMART Reading is now located at 480 NE 9th Ave. in Portland.
