“Books to Front Line” initiative offers you to buy books for Ukrainian soldiers

On Wednesday, April 10, Kyiv presented the "Books to Front Line" project, which collects and delivers books to Ukrainian defenders.

The project presentation took place at the Ukraine-Ukrinform Media Center, Rubryka reports.

What is the problem?

"The people who serve on the front line today are both candidates of science, and doctors of philosophy, and doctors of science," said Vladyslav Klochkov, head of the Main Department of Moral and Psychological Support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, at the presentation of the project. "They are intelligent, educated people who need to develop even during the war on the one hand and to avoid an information vacuum on the other. Nowadays, in every military unit, we have libraries, but, unfortunately, this direction was not developed earlier…  I hope we will now make military libraries of a modern European level."

What is the solution?

"Books to Front Line" is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, the NGO Cultural Forces, and several bookstore chains. According to the organizers, the goal is to support Ukrainian defenders, to allow them to relax and dissociate after a stressful day of combat, and to develop a culture of reading among the military.

How does it work?

"Since the beginning of the war, we have started a project to supply books to our displaced persons and children. More than a million books have been handed over. But at one point, we realized that a book for the front is also an extremely urgent need," the Minister of Culture Oleksandr Tkachenko said during the presentation and information policy.

He said that the following Ukrainian bookstore chains have already joined the project:

• "Family Leisure Club,"
• "KM-Buks,"
• "My Bookshelf."

According to him, anyone can buy books in these bookstores and then put them on a separate shelf for the Ukrainian military. You can include a card with wishes for the military in the book or add your contacts for further correspondence.

The head of the Cultural Forces public organization Kolia Sierha said that Ukrainian defenders want to read utterly different literature because now Ukraine is defended by very different people with very different interests.

"When we started the project, we initially wanted to hire a team of psychologists to recommend which books are better to read. A very cool psychologist told us that we don't need any lists and let people send what they feel," said Kolia Sierha.

Director of the "My Bookshelf" publishing house Iryna Mykhaylenko also expressed her hope that the "Books to Front Line" project will help improve the emotional state of Ukrainian defenders:

"In our bookstores, you can sign a postcard for the military, which we will add to each book. We will also have special packaging: each book will be wrapped in kraft paper, adding special emotions when unwrapping the gift."

To participate in the campaign, you need to buy any book in those bookstores that have become partners of the project and leave it on a special shelf. You can also include a postcard with wishes for the military in the book. You can add your contacts for further correspondence.

Three book chains with 69 stores across Ukraine have joined the project: the Family Leisure Club chain (39 stores), KM BUKS (28 stores), and My Bookshelf (2 stores). The logistics partner of the project is Nova Poshta.