Walt Disney said, “there is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on treasure island.” It is amazing that a bunch of paper covered in words and sentences can carry you all around the world.
Our dream at ACE is to work with children by being enablers to help create equal opportunity through education and creativity. Our primary goal is to work towards the inculcation of the love of learning and discovery; thereby empowering children to innovate and become life-long learners and doers.
Books open minds up to a whole new universe. An alternate world where magic, demigods, witches, wizards, fairies, and all kinds of amazing things and creatures exist. Books are a treasure cove of knowledge, ideas and hope. They guide you, inspire you and help you learn about the world.
When we read, we improve our memory and our empathy. Research shows that it makes us more positive people and can even prevent depression and cut stress. A book is such a simple cure to so many problems.
The Mission of the Ace book Club is to provide free access to cultural and educational experiences to our underserved children and youth communities.
Our aim is to serve the needs of children by bringing a library of preloved books and experiences to them, thus helping to expand minds, build community and inspire curiosity through the joy of discovery.
We strive to promote a lifelong love of reading and learning.
Create a community of children for children where creative expression, innovation & excellence can be nurtured , recognized, and encouraged.
Harbour a spirit of service to experience the joys of sharing and community service amongst the students of schools in Mumbai through the creative clubs that the Ace book club will host regularly.
Through a happy, safe and holistic community , we strive to promote a life long love for reading and learning.
The ACE Book Club is essentially a community and a mobile library. It is a van filled with around 10,000 beloved books, donated by children so that more youngsters can experience the joy of reading and being part of a community. Every weekend, the ACE Book Club (ABC) drives through public schools and slums of Mumbai, providing a platform for underprivileged children to access a library, share ideas with their peers and adult volunteers, and engage in various creative experiences.
The van follows a predetermined route through slums and public schools, stopping at each location for three hours. During these stops, children can borrow or return books and participate in the workshops scheduled for that weekend. The van covers 4-5 locations each weekend, reaching about 20 locations per month, following the same route each month. We aim to serve approximately 2,000 children with this single van.
Every child deserves to be carried away to a new universe and see the world through a thousand different eyes.
The ABC includes fiction and nonfiction books, graphic novels, audiobooks, and
educational books in English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, and many other regional languages.
Our library along with being a province of learning and enlightenment, will be going a step further :
In addition to provide information, access to knowledge, community resources, and (of course) story time for kids, we will also be engaging in
supporting learning — specially in subjects like English and Math for any students who would like that reinforcement.
Through our central idea of children for children, the Ace Book Club will host several creative clubs :
These will all be run by pre-planned modules and by children that are passionate about the above activities .
We have worked with mentors in the space of rural education and learning to ensure that the books we offer will be relatable , exciting and that there will always be something for every child across languages, age categories, backgrounds and genre. We are also working with local authors , book store owners and publishers to ensure that our offerings are always contextually relevant.
ACE is committed to working collectively with other organizations to help reduce inequality and provide fair opportunities. In collaboration with our partners, we are working to improve the lives of children in India by addressing challenges related to education, health, and inclusion.
ABC serves the following communities through the Mobile Library Van.
