Cans4Books has humble beginnings. At the start of the pandemic in 2020, Trisha Goolsby noticed a lot more trash around the streets of San Diego. So while she nannied, she and the kids would pick up recycling on their block walk adventures.
On these walks she also started noticing how few children’s books were in the Little Free Libraries around town. As an educator, Trisha understands that reading is knowledge, the most powerful gift we can give to kids. Kids were still being educated at home, with limited access to books, and these Little Free Libraries could be the perfect opportunity to increase access to reading.
When Trisha heard of a neighbor collecting recyclables to earn extra money, she knew she could collect recyclables to buy children’s books for the Little Free Libraries. In December of 2020, she started a recycling fundraiser, encouraging the community to gather all the cans and plastic bottles they saw to raise money for children’s books. It was a big success! Trisha realized she wanted to keep it going.
What started as a month-long fundraiser of recycling for children’s books turned into a sustainable activity the entire community could get behind! So we continued the journey to collectively recycle CRV cans and bottles to provide free accessible children books throughout San Diego.
Since December 2020, Cans4Books has recycled over 11,000 pounds of CRV eligible aluminum cans, plastic bottles, and glass, and donated over 10,500 children’s books to Little Free Libraries, local elementary schools, and events. And we’re just getting started!
Our mission is to educate children on the importance of taking care of our community for a better and cleaner future and collaborating with community members and businesses for reading.
Cans4Books 