Second Chapters - books for refugee and newcomer kids in Calgary

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Four open boxes of sorted children's books on a floor at home

18 September 2026

The first four boxes are out the door.

Every book was opened, checked and sorted by age and language on a kitchen table over several weekends. Then they went downtown, to CIWA.

CIWA - the Canadian Immigrant Women's Association - works with immigrant and refugee women, girls and their families in Calgary every day. They know which families are starting over with nothing on the shelf. We bring the books; they do the part we can't.

Four boxes down. A lot more to go.

How the partnership works

Where we're at

Everything we've collected so far

0 Books collected

0 Boxes delivered

1,000 Our goal by June 2027

1 Partner organization

Every book is scanned in by hand - this number is the real one.

Why it matters

A family that leaves in a hurry doesn't pack the picture books.

Refugee and newcomer families arrive in Calgary facing a new school, a new language and, very often, an empty bookshelf.

A book in your own language

Keeps bedtime reading going while the whole family learns English - and keeps a child connected to the language they already think in.

A book in both languages

Dual-language books let a parent and child read the same story side by side, each in the language they're strongest in.

A book they can carry to school

A simple English picture book is something a seven-year-old can open in a new classroom on day one and actually read.

The research behind this

Why I started this

“I have a shelf of picture books I loved and haven't touched in eight years. Somewhere in this city there's a six-year-old with an empty shelf. That's a solvable problem, and it doesn't need money - it needs someone to move the books.”

Jeo Metelitsa

Founder, Second Chapters - 10th grade, Calgary

Read the whole story

Boxes of children's books being sorted at home before delivery — Sorting night - every book opened and checked.

How to help

Four things that put books in a kid's hands

Donate a shelf Books your family has outgrown Book a pickup 25 books or more, we come to you Other languages Our hardest books to find Tell someone Most donations start with a friend

Delivery day

What 140 books looks like

No warehouse, no van, no staff. A kitchen table, a family car, and a Thursday morning downtown.

Four boxes of sorted children's books ready to go — Endling, Jake the Fake, Ghost Knight, Galactic Hot Dogs.

A box of children's books at CIWA's door in downtown Calgary — Arrived at CIWA, 4th Avenue SE.

Jeo Metelitsa with the delivered boxes outside CIWA — Handed over. Four boxes, one very full car.

Questions

The things people ask

How do I give you my books?

Message us first. We reply with a time and, for drop-offs, an address in Calgary. For 25 books or more we come to you. There are no public collection boxes, so please don't leave books anywhere unannounced. Start here.

Which books do you need most?

Children's books in languages other than English, and dual-language books. After that: picture books, early readers, chapter books, graphic novels and picture dictionaries, all in good condition. Full list.

Is Second Chapters a registered charity?

No, and we cannot issue tax receipts. Our partner CIWA is a registered charity, but it cannot issue receipts for books donated to us either. What we can do is get your books to a family within weeks and tell you how many went out.

Are you part of CIWA?

No. Second Chapters is an independent student-run drive and CIWA is our delivery partner. Questions about CIWA's own programs should go to CIWA directly - details on our partner page.

Who runs it?

Jeo Metelitsa, a 10th-grade student in Calgary, founded Second Chapters in August 2026 and runs the collecting, sorting and delivering. A parent drives and is present for every handover. Read the story.

Your turn

There's a book in your house that a kid here would love.

One shelf, one message, one handover at the door. Everything on this page started exactly that way.

Donate your books Follow the count

Read. Keep. Belong.