Picture this: it's 20-plus years ago in a Ugandan classroom and a studious young girl is waiting patiently for her turn to read an out-of-date textbook. Twenty or so classmates also wait their turn to read quickly and take notes from the lone tattered learning material being passed around.

Tom Warth witnessed such a moment and decided he had to do something. That something became Books For Africa and its mission to gather books from the United States and ship them to Africa, where 40 percent of the 47 million kids have never been to a classroom.

Since its 1988 founding in St. Paul, Minn., this nonprofit has sent more than 23 million donated text and library books to 45 different African countries. Its commitment to creating a culture of literacy on the African continent is nothing short of inspiring.

But costly, as well. The original Minnesota-based warehouse for years was plagued by rising shipping costs, so Warth looked elsewhere to find more affordable costs to send the books.

"We felt we needed to expand if we were to really make better progress towards ending the African book famine," he explained. "It was a natural decision to expand in the East so we could tap into larger population centers and be closer to the East Coast for shipping economies.''

His search led him to Smyrna, where since last year the BFA warehouse has been in operation at Olympic Industrial Drive off Atlanta Road near the Fulton County line.

"Eventually we decided to open in the Atlanta area due to the availability of good volunteers and cheap warehousing,'' Warth said. "Smyrna had warehousing at the right price with good freeway access.''

Indeed BFA has been a fruitful hub not only for books, but for Atlanta area volunteers, as well. From church groups to Hands On Atlanta regulars, volunteering at BFA quickly transforms what could be a random day volunteer into a life-changing experience of helping children read and learn.

James Hall, BFA warehouse manager, treats all volunteers with a tour of the warehouse, and then provides instructions on how to correctly file the books from the monstrous cardboard boxes they are piled in.

"The Atlanta community has shown up largely informed and ready to get to work within a few minutes through our warehouse doors," said Hall. "There are a large number of people from Africa currently living in Atlanta who walk in aware of the great need for books throughout Africa.

"There are also a lot of young people from all different backgrounds who seem aware of the great need for books, too. Seeing people come in, work selflessly for this cause and are a great source of inspiration."

Maybe this is something you might want to get involved with. There are opportunities to volunteer Monday – Thursday from 9am to 3pm.

Also, BFA accepts donations of popular fiction and nonfiction reading books (soft or hard cover) that are 15 years old or newer. Additionally, needed with a 1995 or newer publish date include primary, secondary and college textbooks; reference books such as encyclopedias and dictionaries; medical, nursing, IT and law books. Bibles, school and office supplies are also accepted for shipment to Africa, where children are hungry to read and learn in ways that books can only provide.