Harry Potter Fans are #ReadyForHermione, Run Global Literacy Campaign
Harry Potter fans are feeling the Herm. Hermione Granger, that is. It’s easy to feel disenchanted by the political process during election season, but the Harry Potter Alliance (HPA) is here to remind people that their voice does matter and there’s a candidate out there they can really get behind. That’s right: Hermione Granger.
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Their community of activists, nerds, avid readers, and pop culture enthusiasts have tackled all kinds of important issues, from marriage equality to ethical cocoa sourcing. “However,” says Executive Director Matt Maggiacomo, “few issues are closer to the heart of our community than literacy and education access. After all, a shared love of books brought us together in the first place, and the morals of the stories we love have guided our campaigns and priorities since 2005.”
Over the years, the HPA’s members around the world have collected over 260,000 books and helped to stock libraries in Rwanda; the Mississippi Delta; Brooklyn, New York; Detroit, Michigan; Kansas City, MO; Gateshead, England; and Leiden, The Netherlands.
Past initiatives have also included:
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Creating the Apparating Library, a progressive, community-generated library built by HPA members across the world over the course of several major fandom events
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Helping a young Maria Keller of Read Indeed reach her goal of donating a million books before turning 18
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Advocating for greater support for school and public libraries by partnering with the American Library Association to call, email, and meet with Congress on National Library Legislative Day.
This year, the HPA has big plans. Their Uganda chapter, Masaka HPA, has been building a school in their local community over the past year and the HPA is leading a drive to stock the new school’s library. HPA members will additionally be joining the American Library Association in advocating on National Library Legislative Day and co-hosting events around the U.S. honoring World Book Night alongside Book Riot.
To fundraise these initiatives, the HPA is running an Indiegogo campaign called Friends of the Apparating Library. Here’s where Hermione comes in. One of the rewards you can receive for donating is a Granger/Lovegood canvassing kit complete with a Granger/Lovegood notebook & sunglasses, a Ready For Hermione bumper sticker, and Feel The Herm pencils — all bundled in a canvas tote for maximum canvassing success.
Additional perks include a cookbook of recipes from popular writers including Lev Grossman, Laurie Halse Anderson, I.W. Gregorio, John Scalzi, Hank Green, and Mara Wilson; a Hex the Patriarchy compilation album of songs about heroines with matching patriarchy-hexing t-shirt; a Felix Felicis coffee mug; exclusive perks from BroadwayCon, GeekyCon, and LeakyCon; wizard emoji buttons; a Books Turn Babies Into Wizards onesie; and much more.
You can support the HPA’s global literacy campaign by becoming a Friend of the Apparating Library today.
