 "Photo: payitforwardbooks.com")
In summer 2009, Hailey Curran witnessed the poor living conditions of children in El Salvador while she was on a mission trip with her church and discovered that it cost a mere $244 for a child to go to school for a year, including the cost of supplies, food and school clothes.
When Curran started the Fall 2009 semester, she noticed the high cost of textbooks. In January 2010, she and Carlos Villalobos, both Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) students, decided to create a website that allows TAMU-CC and DMC students to sell their textbooks locally (cutting out the middleman) and support a good cause.
“College students are sending kids in El Salvador to school – it’s awesome,” said Curran.
The Payitforwardbooks.com website is similar to CraigsList and allows college students in the Corpus Christi area to sell their books to other students at a cheaper price.
The website is accessible to South Texas college students and the Corpus Christi community and also features categories for selling electronics, automobiles, clothing and an array of other items.
“You’re doing three things. You can sell your used books and put some money in your pocket, buy textbooks from other students and most importantly, benefit a good cause,” said cofounder Villalobos.
The main focus of the website for Curran and Villalobos is helping out less fortunate people. Because the service is free, the website asks that sellers donate 5 percent of the money made.
Once a sale is completed, the seller fills out a donation form (available on the website), the donation will be collected and the textbook or miscellaneous item will be taken off the selling list.
The 5 percent donation goes toward helping children in Quezaltepeque, El Salvador attend school.
Compass Bank has supplied a free business account in order to help transfer the donated money to the Lutheran church in El Salvador.
Curran and Villalobos said the project is helping to change lives. “Our main goal is focusing on getting A&M-CC and Del Mar students utilizing the website, and then we can move forward and help the community,” said Villalobos.
For more information, visit Payitforwardbooks.com or contact Curran or Villalobos at payitforwardbooks@gmail.com
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