Nonprofit founders Holly Havens and Ashlee Elia will call their fifth-wheel camper home when they leave South Windsor, Connecticut for the U.S. southern border this fall. Inside there’s an electric fireplace, a small coffee bar and a bunch of books.
“Books are our comfort item, books and coffee, basically,” Havens said. “That's kind of what we use as a way to escape reality.”
Among their collection, there are piles of children’s picture books in English and Spanish. These books are going to migrant families at ICE detention facilities and migrant shelters along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Havens and Elia launched Books & Blankets this summer, a nonprofit organization to support children and families in U.S. immigration detention centers and migrant shelters through donations of comfort items, clothing and other necessities.
“We know that it's not the number one need right now. We could be providing food or law services, but that's not something that we're capable [of] at the moment,” Havens explained. “But we could collect books and provide comfort, at least in the way that we know how, for children that need any comfort they can get.”
For the past several months, Havens and Elia have worked with local coffee shops, artisan markets and Latino community events around Connecticut to raise funds and collect item donations.
According to Havens, they’ve gotten thousands of books from public schools, libraries and community members across the state.
Elia said folks have shared with them how they often feel like they want to help during the migrant crisis, but don’t know how. Being able to donate a kid’s book through their nonprofit gives them a way to make a difference.
“They feel like they can't do anything, and to be part of [the Books & Blankets donation drive] with us is just very meaningful to them,” Elia said.
Havens and Elia are partnering with eight nonprofits serving migrant communities across the country to make sure the donations are going to the right place.
“Our main concern right now is Spanish books,” Elia said. “The more we reach out to people at the centers, they're really looking for Spanish books.”
Connecting with migrant advocates at the border
Dulce Aguirre came into the United States undocumented from Tijuana, Mexico. As she addressed her immigration status, Aguirre said she wanted to give back to her migrant community in San Diego, California.
“I found Border Angels, and I started as a volunteer. I was very intrigued with the kind of work that they were doing and the kind of resources and support they provided for the migrant community,” Aguirre said.
Twelve years later, Aguirre is now the interim executive director of the San Diego-based nonprofit. The organization is one of the several nonprofits collaborating with Books & Blankets.
Border Angels promotes compassion and humanity in the U.S.-Mexico border through numerous initiatives, including a program that supports shelters for migrants and asylum seekers in Tijuana, Aguirre’s birthplace.
“We currently support 16 shelters in Tijuana. We provide essentials like food, clothing, hygiene items, baby supplies, sometimes monetary support as well, depending on what their need is,” Aguirre said.
According to Aguirre, these shelters house thousands of migrant men, women and families with children who are waiting for their immigration appointment at the border.
Border Angels will be distributing Books & Blankets’ donations across these shelters. That includes their namesake comfort items like books and blankets, as well as specific requests that Border Angels asked for, such as winter hats and gloves.
When Border Angels members inform the people at the shelters of the donations coming from far off places like Connecticut, Aguirre said you can see how thankful they are.
“It's a relief that you see in their face when they receive donations and they have a story or initiative behind them, to know that they're supported, they're loved, and they're not forgotten,” Aguirre said. “I'm looking forward to seeing when we deliver those donations, it's going to be a beautiful thing.”
A new chapter on the road
Havens and Elia originally got their camper to take at least a year to travel and live life on the road before settling down, Havens said. But when they saw the escalation of immigration enforcement, they also found a purpose.
“Starting this nonprofit, it was just perfect. We had the camper, and it all fit together. We were like, let's go to the places that need us, and that's where we'll spend our time,” Havens said.
While on their journey down the east coast and along the southern border, they’ll continue to gather supplies to donate and connect with local communities. Elia said they plan to partner with local coffee shops along the way to raise funds, just like they did in Connecticut.
“That way, each little stop that we get, hopefully at least one coffee shop will be putting some of their proceeds back to us,” Elia said.
Havens said she hopes as they spread a little comfort from Connecticut, migrants benefiting will see that people still care about them.
“I hope that it's a bigger picture for them, that we're from Connecticut and the community we're from has come together to try to let them know that there are people in America that still care about them,” Havens said.
For those who donated, Havens said they can virtually join her, Elia and their dog Tuukka on the road trip through Instagram.
“Everybody who is interested will be able to follow along, kind of step by step, as we travel all the way from San Benito to San Diego and make all these donation stops,” Havens said. “They get to see what they were a part of. They can even see the book they donated going to a child.”
Learn more
Books & Blankets will be sharing their cross-country giving tour on Instagram. You can also donate to their fundraiser.
