Bergen County Events
Building East Orange Mini-Libraries
March 2023 - May 2024
Continuing to work with the Makerspace, our volunteers created 3 new mini-libraries from scratch to serve the East Orange community. Our team is currently working with the East Orange City Council to develop and pass mini-library legislation to make installations more accessible for residents.
Nanuet & East Orange Mini-Libraries
October 2nd, 2022 - January 2023
Our team reached out to residents in New York and New Jersey. Using woodworking resources provided by the Bergen County Academies Makerspace, we were able to construct 4 additional mini-libraries with residents in Nanuet, New York and East Orange, New Jersey.
Tajikistan Mini-Library
November 15th, 2022 - January 5th, 2023
28 Monkeys, a popular restaurant/cafe in a cozy area of Dushanbe, Tajikistan, agreed to host one of our mini-libraries. We worked with a local carpenter to create a stylish design, and received books from residents within the local community.
Bergen County Book Drive
April 4th - June 6th, 2022
We held a book drive within Bergen County to donate lightly used books to local nonprofit organizations and community centers. Some of our partners included New Legacy Books, Project Literacy, Bergen Community College, Zakat Foundation of America, and Vietnam Veterans of America. We raised a near total of 3000 books. This would not have been possible without the continued efforts of our team and community.
Hackensack Elks Little Learners Operations
March 23rd - April 30th 2022
We organized our very first mini library operation with the Hackensack Elks as a part of their passion project titled "THE HELLO BOX PROGRAM" with a mission to make reading material and community resources more accessible to the youth and vulnerable of our community. Together, we built and painted 32 mini-libraries. For more information, please check out www.hellobox.education.
Bergen County Academies Ukraine Drive
March 14th - April 11th 2022 @ BCA
Our team held a Ukraine Drive to raise supplies for Ukrainian refugees impacted by the conflict in their country. We collected clothing, first aid kits, toiletries, feminine products, and medicines.
Support Ukraine Bake Sales
March 4th & 9th, 2022 @ BCA
We organized two bake sales on March 4th, 2022, and March 9th 2022. These two bake sales raised over $1,000. All funds were sent to the Lviv Academic Gymnasium in Lviv, Ukraine to support refugee families escaping conflict.
Bergen County Academies Book Drive
December 16th, 2021 - January 14th, 2022 @ BCA
Over the course of one month, our team set up a book drive at Bergen County Academies. We collected over 200 book donations from teachers and students. Our books went to the Paterson Education Fund and the Peter Mazzei library in the Philippines.
Build a Boat Challenge
March 19th, 2021 @ Fair Lawn Public Library
Our second virtual event, a Spies vs Aliens STEM competition, was held with Fair Lawn Public Libary. Attendees were placed in a spies or aliens team. Both teams had to decode secret codes to discover their objectives. The aliens team had to create a slime with cornstarch, water, glue and food coloring, while the spies made a catapult with popsicle sticks, rubber bands and tape to destroy the alien army.
Build a Boat Challenge
January 22nd, 2021 @ Montvale Public Library
We hosted a virtual Build a Boat Challenge to young children with Montvale Public Library. Attendees learned about the engineering design process, and used their own ingenuity to compete in designing boats out of arts and crafts materials that can hold as many pennies while on water as possible before sinking.
Bergen County Book Drive
April 23rd - May 4th, 2021
For our first operation, we held a book drive within Bergen County to donate lightly used books to local nonprofit organizations and community centers. Some of our partners included Vietnam Veterans of America, Bergen READS, and Zakat Foundation of America. We far exceeded our original goal of donating at least 500 books, collecting and donating 2871 books. This would not have been possible without the efforts of our team and our community.