Code Read is a non-profit organisation based in Santa Clarita, California, delivering new books to children in need with the aim of improving literacy levels, and sparking a life-long love for literature and reading.
Since 2016, the family-run organisation has delivered over 60,000 books to children in need across Los Angeles County.
Check out their incredibly inspiring story and how Orca Scan was able to play a part in supporting this cause 👇
The challenge: Tracking 1000s of books takes hours
As Code Read took off and donations started to roll in, Amanda was left with anywhere from 1000 to 3000 books and no clear way how to keep a record of them. The family was left with a pen-and-paper system, and book names, ISBN barcodes, and quantities were written down as a way of monitoring stock.
This process could take up to eight hours to fully log the books in stock, not to mention the additional time it took to manually log this information into an Excel spreadsheet and export it when needed.
Amanda struggled to find an online tracking system that was easy to understand, quick to implement and simple to teach to other volunteers when needed. Plus, one that had the integrations she needed to gain full end-to-end book tracking.
Inventory of all books took hours and hours; it was so time-consuming. I would type up notes into a spreadsheet, then after a donation I’d go back into my notes, and have to manually change the numbers. It was a lotAmanda KrestulVP of Operations- Code Read
A little bit of context: Meet Amanda
Amanda’s daughter Mackenzie started Code Read when she was 16 years old as a way of giving back to her community. As a book lover herself, Mackenzie realised that many communities around her did not have the luxury of accessing and owning books for themselves. With research, she learnt that there were limited libraries and school facilities available in towns (also known as “book deserts”), which left children without access to books. Mackenzie believed this was unfair and had a mission to give everyone the opportunity to read and enjoy literature
After a successful GoFundMe campaign to raise money for the charity in 2016, Code Read received its first donation of 1000 books to give to children in need.
Since then, Code Read have gone from working with individual schools in the area to partnering with the local school district which looks after 20-25 elementary schools alone. They’ve also partnered with the Department of Child Services, foster youth groups and local family courtrooms as the books give children an escape from real life; allowing them to connect and open up to the adults around them.
I did try others, but they were too complicated. It wasn’t worth my timeAmanda KrestulVP of Operations- Code Read
How has Orca Scan provided a successful book solution?
Before Amanda and the volunteers go into schools or organisations to donate books, they do a quick scan of all books in stock using the Orca Scan mobile app. The data is automatically pulled into her sheets so she can later export the data with our handy Excel integration.
Once they’ve left the school, the team do another stocktake of all remaining books to identify how many are left, and also, which books were most popular with the children.
It’s super easy to learn, and that’s one of the things I love most about it. My youngest daughter also helps a lot and brings her friends in, so it’s great that they can pick it up and run with Orca Scan so easilyAmanda KrestulVP of Operations- Code Read
Before finding a reliable, efficient and simple to use inventory tracking system, it would take Amanda six to eight hours to complete a full stock take of books in their warehouse.
Thanks to Orca Scan’s Book Tracking template, the team can work directly from their smartphone and complete a full stock check in under two hours 🎉 With every scan, the quantity, book title, description and barcode is automatically populated into her Orca sheet so there is no need for pen & paper spreadsheets.
Amanda can now spend her days concentrating on tasks that really matter, like applying for grants and writing bids. Not only is this a valuable task, but this money is what keeps the charity going. In fact, Amanda told us that for every 25 grants she writes, only one is likely to come back successful.
I’d highly recommend Orca Scan for the time-saving. The investment is so worth it, and has saved so much time for me. It’s great to surround yourself with people who support your mission, and I truly believe Orca Scan is a company that wants the best for everyone” Amanda KrestulVP of Operations- Code Read
What does the future look like for Code Read?
From our interview, it was clear that a few simple additions to Amanda’s sheet could make a huge difference in the efficiency and ease of her Orca Scan sheet, so our customer success team is continuing to work with Amanda to improve her workflow.
The charity has recently acquired a ‘Bookmobile’ which allows them to deliver books to schools and organisations more frequently, without having to hire a van or unload books from their car…check it out👇
Alongside her work with Code Read, Mackenzie is now studying in New York and would love to expand the Code Read mission to the East Coast…. keep your eyes peeled 👀
Thank you 🙏
We want to thank Amanda for taking time out of her day to chat with us about how Orca Scan is helping them do amazing things in their community. If you would like to know more about Code Read or want to volunteer or donate to their mission, then head over to their website 💛
