How Will You & The Book Industry Make A Difference?

USA Weekend and NBC-TV are holding the 24^th Annual Make A Difference Day on October 25^th.  How will you – and those in the book industry make a difference?

The event, the nation’s largest day of community service, enlists millions of volunteers across the country to improve the lives of others.  There is no shortage of ways to make life better for someone, and for some, the needs are great.  Just look at the starving, the homeless, the sick, the psychologically suffering, and the disabled.  But also look at literacy, education, free speech, and the sharing of books to support one’s inspiration and imagination.  You can make a difference.  Will you?

What are some things you can do to make a difference?

1.      Donate your resources to those in need – books, money, or your time.  Volunteer as a reading tutor, assist a library, or collect books and donations on behalf of 25 million American illiterates.

2.      Write books that help people.  Use your words to help and heal, to deliver hope and love.

3.      Speak out against book bans, government censorship globally, and against Amazon’s economic censorship.

4.      Use this day to launch into not just a one-day feel-good moment but a year-long or lifelong contribution to society.  Take time to research and plan how you can make a difference.  Perhaps form your own non-profit – or join hands with an existing one.

5.      Recruit others to help.  We’re in this together.  A few people can’t be the guardians of society.  We all play a hand in the country and world that we live in.

Everyday should be one that we try to make a difference.  It is very much a way of life, to think about others and our place in this world.  We each can make contributions of all sizes and shapes, in our own way, at our own pace.  But to do nothing is cruel, selfish, and abhorrent.  And when we each do something – anything- we can make a collective difference.

If you believe that an educated society is one that will make better choices and contribute more to the good of the masses, then we should each feel compelled to act.  There should be an urgency in our thoughts, words, and deeds to contribute to a better world.

The good thing about seeking to change the world through books and literacy is that you don’t have to think about the things that often divide us – race, class, religion, politics, geography.  Our goal is to enlighten and educate, so when others learn to read or learn more things, it doesn’t just benefit an individual, but the world.  I believe we have to trust in an educated society to lead the way to changing society.

Here, in one of the more educated and certainly advanced nations, two-thirds of the adult population lack a college degree.  We won’t get far without everyone having a core knowledge base about the world.  This year, make a difference and use what you have or know best – the gift of words.

Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, Media Connect, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2014