One of the service areas in which the Rotary Club of Austin-Southwest participates is Literacy. Streetbooks ATX is a unique literacy effort to provide books to the unhoused of Austin. With the help of a mobile book cart, Patrick Crowley, and his organization, Streetbooks ATX, goes to locations in the city where people are living with little access to books taking a wide variety of reading materials. These range from children’s books to Fiction and Non-Fiction.
One of the Club's members, Keith McComb, came across a large number of good books headed for the landfill. These books went to Streetbooks ATX mobile cart and to Violet KeepSafe Storage for their library. Due to the Club's community connections, we were able to keep over 300 books out of the landfill and put into the hands of someone who might enjoy reading them. To date, the Rotary Club of Austin-Southwest has supported Streetbooks ATX with both annual book drives and financial support from the Club Budget. Part of the Club’s annual charity Golf Tournament net proceeds support this effort.