Volunteer Opportunities
Support the African Library Project by volunteering your expertise and time toward initiatives that are changing lives, book by book.
Current Volunteer Openings:
- Container Manager
- Book Drive Organizer (ongoing): If interested in becoming a Book Drive Organizer (collect, organize, and ship books), please learn more and register here.
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Container Manager – volunteer position
General Position Overview
The Container Manager role is a volunteer position that is essential for completing the African Library Project’s (ALP) mission, one that requires volunteers with the goal of getting the books to the children and the persistence to succeed. The ideal candidate will find satisfaction in working with other volunteers and tracking the progress of book drives to facilitate the shipment of libraries to Africa.
This is a remote position that requires the ability to commit flexible hours. Some periods will require commitment of several hours weekly to only a few hours weekly for slower periods.
Core Responsibilities
A Container Manager is responsible for managing two shipping containers of books every year. Each container contains 30 – 60 libraries and can involve several dozen Book Drive Organizers to make this effort possible. This process involves matching Book Drive Organizers (BDOs) in North America with specific libraries in a partner country, communicating by email and/or phone to guide BDOs through the book drive process, entering data and information into a database (excel and Salesforce), and sending instructions and other information to BDOs. The ideal candidate must be able to collaborate and communicate with other volunteers, including BDOs, Country Liaisons, Operations Director, and other Container Managers.
Container Managers are responsible for managing two containers every year, and each container takes 3-4 months. This job can be done remotely from your home and personal computer.
Qualifications
- Basic data entry, Microsoft Word, and Excel background and knowledge. ALP will provide training on how to operate the database.
- A minimum time commitment of one year with 4 to 6 hours a week, extended commitment of time in the beginning for proper and thorough training, attendance and participation on the Operations Committee (~4 meetings annually).
- An individual with attention to detail, good organizational skills, and a willingness to take the time to learn the technological processes with Salesforce and Google spreadsheets for record keeping
To apply, please send your resume of relevant experience and a cover letter to Lauren Small at Execdir@africanlibraryproject.org.
Past Summits
View photo albums and more!
- 2022: Virtual Sessions (Watch Malawi Session | Watch Kenya Recorded Session)
- 2020: 7th Biennial Summit took place in Lesotho (view photo album)
- 2017: 6th Biennial Summit took place in Botswana (read the blog post)
- 2015: 5th Biennial Summit took place in Ghana (view photo album)
- 2013: 4th Biennial Summit took place in Malawi (view photo album)
- 2011: 3rd Biennial Summit took place in Eswantini (view photo album)
- 2009: 2nd Biennial Summit took place in Lesotho (view photo album)
- 2008: 1st Biennial Summit took place in Botswana (view photo album)
2022 Virtual sessions
Due to COVID-19 policies and enforced travel restrictions, the 2022 Summit was held virtually as two mini sessions. This allowed us to invite everyone who supports our work to join. Although the virtual sessions do not come close to replacing the power of an actual in-person gathering, they did allow for our community to hear from our Malawi and Kenyan Partners to present about their country and best practices for their work. There was also time for an open dialogue for the entire community.
The first session was hosted by the Malawi Partners in April 2022 (watch recording on YouTube) and the second session was hosted by the Kenyan Partners in November 2022 (watch recording on YouTube).