Whether it’s donating Barefoot books to Marley Dias’ #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign or planting trees across the globe, the Barefoot family is taking action to #OpenTheirWorld and make an impact every day.

At Barefoot, we are committed to living out the kindness and compassion we celebrate in our books.  All across the world, our community of parents, educators, librarians, booksellers, storytellers and artists are making a difference in their own communities, in their own ways.

Global Citizens Give Back

Kids can give back, too! It's a key part of growing up Barefoot: kids being empowered to make a difference in ways large and small wherever they are! For CEO and Co-founder Nancy Traversy's daughter Meaghan, growing up Barefoot included building a library for children in Sebikotane, Senegal. Watch this video to learn more!

Standing with Puerto Rico

In the wake of Hurricane Maria in September 2017, Senior Editors Kate DePalma and Lisa Rosinsky volunteered to donate picture book critiques to a charitable auction raising money for aid to Puerto Rico. The auction - organized by a group of children’s book editors, agents and authors - was created on Twitter under the hashtag #PubforPR. All auction proceeds went to two local charities, Unidos por Puerto Rico and ConPRmetidos, which were selected after a careful vetting process. Together, Kate and Lisa's critiques raised a total of $1,175 in aid donations!

A Bookmark Bonanza

We gathered up all our unneeded old proofs of books, conjured all our creativity and made 30 bookmarks for a Boston-based literacy program. Big thanks to Building Impact for organizing the activity (08/2016)!

Valentines for Seniors

This February, the Barefoot cafe was sprinkled with colorful paper, old book proofs, glitter and glue as we made Valentines' Day cards for Ethos Care, an elderly care organization! Building Impact donated the cards to Meals on Wheels, which included them in deliveries to isolated seniors to brighten their days (02/2016).

Help Ward off the Cold

The Barefoot team made no-sew fleece blankets for homeless shelters in the Boston area, a project facilitated by Buildling Impact (10/2014).

Back to School

With Building Impact, we made cards for Cradles to Crayons to give to underserved children Boston-area students on their first day of school (08/2013)!