Usborne Books for Christmas Gifts

I've been working as an independent organiser for Usborne for a few months...it's a good way of working around my children and, although I would never have dreamed of being in 'Sales', I now sell a product I actually believe in.

 I'm a complete book freak, and know that reading and looking at books (and the other products Usborne do, such as flashcards, 'snap' games in lots of languages and characters) is really beneficial for children..and adults. I reckon that learning whilst enjoying the learning.

Oh, and the reason I like this company is that you can get benefits back...free books if you or a group buy a over £100 of books. I actually give 10% of my takings to the host (or a stall fee) and various personal discounts.. and of course there are the deals advertised on the leaflets we have..

Schools can get a whopping 60% back in free books, by holding a sponsore read (or listen for pre school groups), combined with a book fair, can really boost your school's library.

And of course, they are smashing books!

Aid to Kabul, the Simple Way.

Anyone can do this! I suppose you will need to know someone within the military in a war zone to do it.

I've recently come to know of a local campaign where a mum has 'mineswept' her friends to collect used toddler clothes and shoes for postage to Kabul, Afghanistan, where one of our troops has found that the lack of basic amenities for the locals has distressed him so much that he sent out word to local businesses in the UK to collect the above items...I guess businesses are bombarded with various requests at this time of year, as are individuals...but I (for one) had lots of stuff which I had intended to sell at one or two stalls previously and had to cancel through sickness...leaving me with stuff I needed to pass on.
By the grace of God, some critically underprivileged people can now have some stuff they really need, due to the concern of the member of military who then switched his plea to friends at home.
I hear he's really touched by the amount of stuff that's been collected from all the mothers who my friend has contacted, and this is just from a local word of mouth campaign.

This is an example of how social networking can work in a good way, and that's from me who would never have touched Facebook in a million years (I just thought it was an awful tool for people to spy, bully and cheat with)..but recently got on board due to starting my own concern as an independent organiser for Usborne Books.

I am unsure of the exact rules, but I asked how the heck is the stuff going to be transported?.Postage is very expensive...and the answer came back that postage is supposed to be free to a military address if under 2kg and packed in a shoe box. So there are going to be lots of shoe boxes going out there this month!

I'm just wondering if there are any more opportunities for getting aid to people in this way, and reading this may spark an idea in someones head that they may copy this idea...or are you already doing it and have a nice story to share?