In just a few short months, my oldest daughter will enter into her Senior year of High School. We have already been looking at colleges this year and visiting different campuses on our search for the perfect fit for her and her interests. In doing so, we have learned of the cost of tuition at these schools as well as the cost of books! All of this can be extremely pricey, as you can imagine. However, I just recently learned of an opportunity for college students where they can actually rent textbooks instead of buying them. At first I was not sure about this option; however, upon researching it further, it sounds like a great deal for college students! Before you dismiss this option, consider the following perks of renting textbooks:

• You will save 40-90% off of bookstore prices.
• Shipping is free both ways – to you and back to the company when you’re finished.
• You don’t have to worry as highlighting is allowed in the textbooks.
• They have very flexible renting periods.
• And, (this is huge for me), they donate to Operation Smile with each textbook rented!

There are certainly more benefits to going this route, but those leaped off the page at me when I learned of this opportunity.

To further expound on Operation Smile, please consider the following quoted from their website:

Operation Smile is an international children’s medical charity that heals children’s smiles, forever changing their lives.

As an international charity for children, we measure ourselves by the joy we see on all of the faces we help. At Operation Smile, we’re more than a charity. More than an NGO. We’re a mobilized force of medical professionals and caring hearts who provide safe, effective reconstructive surgery and related medical care for children born with facial deformities such as cleft lip and cleft palate.

Every three minutes a child is born with a cleft. One in 10 of those children will die before their first birthday. The children who survive are often unable to eat, speak, socialize or smile. In some places, they are shunned and rejected. And in too many cases, their parents can’t afford to give them the surgeries they need to live a productive life. Every child deserves access to safe, quality surgical care. Every child deserves a future filled with hope.

That’s where we come in as the largest volunteer-based medical charity providing free cleft surgeries. Since 1982, Operation Smile — through the help of dedicated medical volunteers — has provided more than 3.5 million comprehensive patient evaluations and over 200,000 free surgeries for children and young adults born with facial deformities. Our work creates a lasting global impact. We train local doctors in developing countries and strengthen healthcare systems so more children in some of the poorest areas in the world can be treated.

As one of the most prominent charities for children in the world, we work in over 60 countries to heal children’s smiles and bring hope for a better future. Together, we are saving children’s lives.

Thanks to the generosity and spirit of volunteerism shown by our supporters, we heal thousands of children per year. With your help, how many lives can we change tomorrow?

http://www.operationsmile.org/about_us/who-we-are/

In addition to all of the above, please also consider that Campus Book Rentals (www.CampusBookRentals.com) has a new program called RentBack (www.RentBack.com), which is a new initiative that allows students to rent the textbooks they own – to other students! This is a wonderful opportunity for them to make use of their old textbooks that they no longer need to study with as they can earn two to four times more money compared to what they would ordinarily make through buyback options or selling their books back at the end of the semester!

We will definitely be looking into these options and programs as my daughter goes to college in the Fall of 2015!