MIGRATÓN 2020 accepting donations for sister city

Cd. Juárez, our Mexican sister city, has been running a campaign during the month of August called “Migratón 2020” to raise awareness and support for Refugee and Migrant families. The National Institute of Migration (INM) is collecting clothing, shoes, toys, books, and magazines to support families staying in shelters in Cd. Juárez.

Donations may be brought to offices of the INM or Grupo Beta in Cd. Juárez from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm any day of the week throughout August.

Note: Due to COVID-19, all clothing, shoes, and toys MUST be new.

Can you donate locally to help? Yes! Casa Camino Real Bookstore, in partnership with Border Servant Corps (BSC), will be collecting items through August, which will be distributed directly to the organizers of “Migratón 2020.”

Casa Camino Real has been working together with BSC since the summer of 2018 in a program called Libros Para El Viaje/Books for the Journey, which has provided thousands of books to asylum-seeking families. The American Booksellers Association, The Children’s Reading Foundation, and hundreds of booksellers and bookstores across the U.S., Latin America and Europe have donated books for families. Additionally, many non-profit organizations, donors, and readers of all ages (from age five on up!) have made significant contributions.

Throughout the years, we have also received donations of books, notebooks, journals, school supplies, and items for hospitality bags from generous donors. Last winter, we had an extraordinarily successful pajama and thermal clothing drive called Pajama-Rama. Thank you, donors!

Libros Para El Viaje is ongoing. While we are not all able to travel as freely as we did before the pandemic, members of BSC’s team do so on a regular basis. You can be assured that your donations will make it to our families.

Last Monday, we sent hundreds of books to a Juárez shelter and are committed to continue doing so on an ongoing, weekly basis…and we need your help!

Casa Camino Real continues to collect new and gently used Spanish-language books for babies (board books), children ages 3-6, 7-11, 12-16, and adults. We are requesting life-affirming and empowering books that nurture hope and dignity.

We believe in the power of a book to heal lives. We believe a book can transcend borders—real and imagined—between people of all ages and backgrounds. We believe that books uplift, support, and empower. We are committed to sharing quality literature with those who might not otherwise have the present resources in their lives to obtain books. We are all one universal family. We do not discriminate, and work with many faith-based organizations, non-profit organizations, public entities, governmental agencies, and private citizens.

Libros Para El Viaje has a commitment for the Good. We believe that the Journey has been given to us—to each of us in our own personal way—and that through that Journey we encounter the Good and Strong and Resilient in Each Other.

Our mottos are “We are All Travelers on the Great Road,” and “Leer Es Vivir/To Read is to Live.”

We need and want your donations. We will meet you masked and gloved at our bookstore and with a grateful heart. Thank you!

To make a financial donation through BSC (memo: Migratón 2020): https://www.justgiving.com/peacelutheranchurchevangelicalinc

To set up a time to drop off donations with BSC, email HospitalityNM@gmail.com.

To contact Casa Camino Real for a list of suggested types of books or for a drive-by delivery of donated items, message Denise Chávez on Facebook or through our Abebooks page at: https://www.abebooks.com/casa-camino-real-las-cruces-nm/55655980/sf