Susan Bender sends in the following news:
I thought the folks on this list might be interested in a campaign that iChapters is running, which directly reduces the number of trees that are being cut down to produce textbooks, while also helping plant more trees to increase reforestation and further enable students to easily purchase either chapters or complete textbooks online. I thought that the students who are part of your respective networks might be interested in the campaign as we approach the height of textbook-buying season, so here’s a bit of background information:
iChapters (www.ichapters.com), recently launched their “Plant a Tree” program, graciously planting a tree for each eBook and eChapter purchased through their website until February 15th. For this effort, they partnered with both Paso Pacifico (www.pasopacifico.org), the non-profit who are planting the trees, as well as Changing the Present (http://www.changingthepresent.org/drives/show/1002), who are tracking and managing the online transfer of donations without charging a handling fee.
iChapters offers textbooks and chapters of textbooks to students who are looking for an alternative to buying books in the campus bookstore; the company currently carries over 8,000 titles and the books are about 50% less than most bookstore pricing. Every student who makes a purchase will also receive an exclusive iChapters “I Planted a Tree” digital badge which they can put onto their profiles, websites, blogs, or Facebook pages, and which shows in real time how many trees have been planted. I’m proud to say that — in just over a week — over 24,000 trees have been planted!
The tree-planting campaign (http://www.changingthepresent.org/drives/show/1002) is a unique public-private partnership that is truly innovative, and students across the country are jumping on board to save some money while positively impacting the environment. iChapters is also revolutionizing the relationship between textbook providers and students, creating several platforms for the exchange of ideas and for updates on the campaign — including a Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/iChapters/7061939610), widgets (http://www.guerillapr.com/ichapters/), and an electronic press kit (www.guerillapr.com/ichapters).
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About iChapters
iChapters (http://www.ichapters.com) is a division of Cengage Learning and the company’s flagship e-commerce destination for purchasing textbooks, eBooks, and eChapters at significant discount. Offering new print textbooks at up to 40% off list, eBooks priced 50% below list price, and eChapters starting as low as $1.99 each, iChapters provides students the opportunity to save time and money without sacrificing quality content. In addition, iChapters sells over 10,000 print and digital study tools, helping meet the needs of all students.
About Paso Pacifico
Paso Pacifico (http://www.pasopacifico.org) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that works to protect Central America’s Pacific slope ecosystems. The organization implements projects in environmental education, sustainable agriculture, forest restoration, and wildlife protection. Through these actions, Paso Pacifico is creating western Nicaragua’s first biological corridor.
About Changing the Present
Changing the Present (http://www.changingthepresent.org) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit website that lets visitors choose exactly what they want to accomplish to make the world a better place. They can plant trees in Nicaragua, provide books for underprivileged kids, or fund an hour of cancer research. Thousands of inspiring donation opportunities from hundreds of leading nonprofits address a full range of causes. The Board of Advisors of this nonprofit includes Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jody Williams, the heads of more than 125 prominent nonprofit organizations, and internet leaders such as Esther Dyson.
MCC Sustainability Group 