We collect the books. CIWA knows the families.
Second Chapters has partnered with the Canadian Immigrant Women's Association (CIWA), a Calgary charity that works with immigrant and refugee women, girls and their families.
Empowering immigrant women and families in Calgary
CIWA - formerly the Calgary Immigrant Women's Association - supports immigrant and refugee women, girls and their families as they settle in Canada. Their work includes settlement and integration support, language instruction for newcomers, youth programs and after-school homework support for immigrant girls, cross-cultural parenting programs, and employment training.
They already work every day with the families our books are for.
Looking for CIWA's own services? Please contact CIWA directly - Second Chapters can't answer questions about their programs. Phone 403-263-4414, email welcome@ciwa.org, Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 4:30 pm.
Who does what
A student book drive can collect and sort well. It is not in a position to work directly with families who are starting over. So we split the work.
Second Chapters
- Arranges every donation
- Checks every book by hand
- Sorts by age and language
- Delivers bundles to CIWA
- Publishes the count
CIWA
- Works directly with refugee and newcomer families
- Gets books to the families who need them
- Keeps those families' privacy
Privacy, always. We never collect names, photos or stories of the families who receive books. That relationship belongs to CIWA and the families, and it stays private.
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Step 1
Calgary families donate
Books come in by arrangement - a drop-off at our door, or a pickup for bigger loads.
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Step 2
Every book is checked
Opened, wiped down, and scanned into our count. Anything damaged is recycled.
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Step 3
Sorted by age and language
First-language and dual-language books are pulled out first, then picture books, early readers, and books for older kids.
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Step 4
Bundles go to CIWA
Packed, labelled and dropped off by Jeo with a parent driving.
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Step 5
Books reach families - to keep
From CIWA to the families they work with. Nothing comes back.
New to Calgary and looking for books for your kids?
You don't need to explain your situation to us, and there's nothing to pay or fill in.
If you're already connected with CIWA, ask them - that's the simplest way. Or email us the ages of your children and the languages you read at home, and we'll put a bundle aside and arrange a handover that suits you, including at a library or community centre.
- No income check, no forms, no questions about why.
- We never publish names, photos or stories about families.
- Books are yours to keep, pass on, or give away again.
Work with refugee families too?
CIWA is our partner, but if you run a settlement, refugee or newcomer program in Calgary, tell us what you need. We'll be honest about what we can fill once CIWA's bundles are covered.
CIWA brings the families. We need the books.
Every bundle we hand over starts as a shelf in someone's house. Especially if that shelf has anything on it in a language other than English.