Books for Boots

06/01/2026

🇺🇸 May 2026 marked not only three years of operation for Books for Boots, but also a major milestone: more than **18,000 items provided** to military members, veterans, wounded recruits, and military children.

Every book, item, and resource we've provided has been made possible through the support of our community.

Now, we're asking for your help again.

Our upcoming Red, White, and Boots Festival will serve as our primary fundraiser, helping ensure we can continue our mission for years to come. While Books for Boots is operated entirely by volunteers, we still have essential expenses such as insurance, storage units, event costs, and other operational needs that make our work possible.

We are actively seeking event sponsors who want to make a meaningful impact on the military community while gaining valuable visibility for their business.

If you or your company would be interested in sponsoring, or if you know a business we should contact, please email us. We'd love the opportunity to share our sponsorship information.

Together, we can continue putting books, resources, and support into the hands of those who serve and sacrifice for our country.

Event link:
https://www.facebook.com/share/1BCjutp8DB/

05/30/2026

🎉Special thanks to Insulation Commandos of Baton Rouge - they held a month long book drive and we picked up yesterday! Lots of fantastic reads were collected!!

We also picked up several boxes of children's books from St. George's Academy yesterday. Our program is getting super stocked up!

05/29/2026

‼️We’re on a mission to maximize every square inch of our storage units and get our books and supplies organized onto shelves so we can work faster, serve more military members, and keep growing our mission.

To make that happen… we need SHELVING! 📚💪

Here’s what we’re currently looking for:

• Mainstays Framed 5-Shelf Bookcase with Adjustable Shelves (white or black)
• HART 5-Tier Ventilated Resin Shelving Unit – 18" x 36" x 72" (750 lb capacity)

These are the same shelves we already use because they’re affordable, durable, reusable, and work perfectly for our setup.

Our Walmart list:
https://www.walmart.com/lists/wishlist/ee7d24a0-5b5a-471e-b47e-425b7b060123

The HART shelves currently don’t offer shipping, but we’re happy to pick them up from the store if purchased locally. Or, a similar one can be ordered on Amazon at https://a.co/07GMXT5F

If donating funds is easier, visit our website homepage and scroll down — we’ve made donating as simple as possible with multiple options available.

Every shelf helps us organize thousands of books and items for military members, veterans, wounded recruits, and military families. Let’s get these units built out and make this space WORK for our mission! 🇺🇸

05/29/2026

🤯 IT'S OFFICIAL - We have now provided over 18,000+ items to our military community in three years of operation.

Today, after our weekly restock at the VA Outpatient Clinic, we officially surpassed 18,000 books and comfort items distributed to service members, veterans, wounded recruits, and military families.

It’s hard to even put that number into words.

What started with one injured recruit — our daughter at basic training asking for books while recovering — became something we never could have imagined. One request for comfort during a difficult time turned into a mission that now reaches military members locally and across the world.

From injured recruits at basic training, to deployed troops, to veterans sitting in waiting rooms at VA clinics… your support has helped us remind our service men and women that they are seen, valued, and never forgotten.

18,000 items means:

📦 thousands of items packed, sorted, shipped, stocked, and shared with purpose

🤝 thousands of connections made through generosity and community support

🇺🇸 thousands of ways our community has stepped up for military members and veterans

✈️ thousands of books carried into barracks, hospitals, deployments, and homes

📖 thousands of stories placed into deserving hands

🌈 thousands of pages helping people escape pain, boredom, stress, and loneliness

📚 thousands of moments of escape through books

💙 thousands of moments of comfort during difficult days

🕊️ thousands of quiet moments of peace in waiting rooms, recovery units, and long nights

❤️ thousands of reminders that someone cares

✨ thousands of reminders that even the smallest gesture can make a difference

🌟 thousands of small acts of kindness creating a much bigger mission

🫶 thousands of reasons to keep this mission going

We are still completely volunteer-run. Every book sorted, every shelf stocked, every donation picked up, every package mailed, every event planned — it all happens because people believed in this mission and have spent the last three years working tirelessly to support.

To everyone who has donated books, shared our posts, volunteered your time, sponsored events, or simply encouraged us along the way: thank you for helping turn a difficult chapter in our daughter’s journey into something that now impacts so many others.

And we’re just getting started. ❤️📚🇺🇸

05/28/2026

❤️❤️❤️🇺🇲

We know you're all loving the books from our friends at Books for Boots! They heard you all like puzzles too and they hooked us up- stop by the E-Club Café and grab a puzzle! You can keep the puzzle or you can return it when you're done for someone else to enjoy. 🧩 Thank you again Melissa and the Books for Boots team!

05/27/2026

🥾🇺🇲 Behind every part of Books for Boots is a group of volunteers who are balancing full-time jobs, family responsibilities, service with other organizations, and countless hours dedicated to this mission. Every day, we manage hundreds of books and donated items — so finding time for cold calls and fundraising efforts is often nearly impossible.

That’s why we are so excited to launch our very first Red, White, and Boots Festival coming in late August! 🇺🇸

Our hope is that this festival not only helps raise funds for Books for Boots, but also helps us work toward a long-term dream: having a permanent place to operate from. We would love to see this become an annual community event that grows alongside our organization and mission.

We still have a few days left for vendors to sign up, and we are actively looking for sponsors as well! This event will be heavily promoted and advertised, and we would truly appreciate your support in helping us spread the word. Volunteer opportunities with this event will be posted soon!! Interested in sponsoring? Please email [email protected]! Vendors, please fill out this form and we will be in touch!! https://forms.gle/1X5zjTBQGyuUgsrD6

Please share, invite others, and follow our event page for updates!
Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/share/1E7koKX42i/ We even have a website up and running, and we’ll continue adding details as entertainment and attractions are finalized. https://booksforboots.org/events

Thank you all for continuing to support Books for Boots and the military community we serve. ❤️

05/25/2026

🇺🇲 As most of you know, Books for Boots began because of our daughter’s experience at basic training. After suffering a substantial injury, she spent time in the recovery unit for injured recruits and asked us to send books — not just for herself, but for the other recruits there as well. What started as a simple act of care grew into a mission that now serves recruits, active duty military, veterans, and military children across the country.

Our daughter recovered, earned her EGA, and today proudly serves as an active duty Marine. In many ways, her mission has grown too.

One of her responsibilities as a Marine is serving on funeral honors details alongside fellow Marines from her station. Together, they attend services for veterans and fallen Marines, carefully folding and presenting the American flag to grieving families. It is a solemn responsibility — one she carries with deep respect and pride.

She often talks about these services afterward. Sometimes she mentions how she felt this was the best flag she has folded yet. Sometimes she talks about how kind and welcoming a family was. Other times, she quietly reflects on veterans who had very few people there to honor them.

Before every service, she reads the obituary of the veteran or Marine she will be honoring. She studies her orders carefully and approaches each ceremony with the dignity it deserves.

Some of these men and women came home from war and were blessed with years of life after service. Others gave everything while still serving and never had that opportunity.

This Memorial Day, we remember them all.

The red stains on her white gloves are from folding flag after flag for America’s heroes. To most, they may just look worn. To me, they are a profound testimony of her devotion, honor, and respect for every service member who took the oath to defend our nation.

May you all have a safe Memorial Day and never forget the reason for this day.

05/24/2026

This Memorial Day and Memorial Day weekend, we pause to remember the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. Their courage, selflessness, and love for this nation gave us freedoms that can never truly be repaid.

At Books for Boots, we are reminded every day that behind every uniform is a story — a son, daughter, mother, father, friend, or neighbor who chose to serve something greater than themselves. We honor those whose stories ended far too soon, but whose legacy lives on through the lives they touched and the freedoms they protected.

As we gather with family and friends this weekend, may we take a moment to reflect on the true meaning of Memorial Day and remember the fallen heroes who are not here to celebrate beside us.

To the Gold Star families carrying the weight of loss every day — we remember with you, and we honor your loved ones with gratitude beyond words.

Their courage. Their Sacrifice. Our Freedom.

May we never forget. 🇺🇸❤️