“I want to help.  But where do I start?”  Since her season as a judge on Oprah Winfrey’s “Big Give,” humanitarian campaigner and fundraiser Malaak Compton-Rock gets asked this question a dozen times a day.  Now in a new book, she shares her inspiring story and shows others how to create their own path to community service 

If It Takes a Village, Build One

How I found Meaning Through A Life of Service and  

 100+ Ways You Can too

By Malaak Compton-Rock

Foreward by Marian Wright Edelman

 “Malaak Compton-Rock is changing the world!  Her focus on helping young people become all that they can be is a stunningly simple blueprint for what all of us can do.  If It Takes a Village, Build One is a must read if you want to make real change in your world.” —Soledad O’Brien, CNN anchor and special correspondent

 “Malaak has taken her own life experiences with service, community and family and penned an important how-to for taking action and giving back. I’ve been fortunate to know her and to work with her, witnessing first-hand her dedication to helping others. If It Takes a Village, Build One is an empowering must-read for all of us working to make our communities, our country and our world a better place.” —Congresswoman Maxine Waters

 “Millions of people around the world have been inspired by watching Malaak Compton-Rock work her extraordinary magic. Now she’s written a moving and absorbing guide to how you, too, can easily tap into your inner humanitarian.”—Jon Klein, President of CNN/U.S

________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Service is the rent we pay for living” says preeminent children’s advocate Marian Wright Edelman and the motto by which Malaak Compton Rock lives her life.  From a childhood grounded in the importance of giving back to her work in public relations at UNICEF to becoming a full-time mother and humanitarian, Malaak’s life has fully embodied this sentiment. The winner of a multitude of awards, including the The Soledad O’Brien 2009 Freedom Voice Award, Community Voices Healthcare for the Underserved of Morehouse School of Medicine Award, and The Salvation Army of Greater New York Annual Fundraising Award to name a few, Malaak thrives on the idea of giving. In her powerful new book: If It Takes a Village, Build OnE: How I Found Meaning Through a Life of Service and 100+ Ways You Can Too (Broadway Books; On Sale: April 6, 2010; ISBN: 9780767931700; Hardcover; $23.99),

Malaak offers an uplifting chronicle of her “journey for change” and demonstrates to readers how and why they should embark on their own.

Part memoir, part practical guide, global humanitarian (and wife of Chris Rock) Malaak gives readers insightful advice including how to find the right volunteer opportunity, how to get kids involved in a life of service, how to research charities, and how to start a nonprofit, as she did several years ago. Her practical wisdom is grounded in inspirational anecdotes about her own experience with service, including her work with Hurricane Katrina aftermath, the two nonprofits she has helped launch, and her recent powerful initiative called “Journey for Change: Empowering Youth Through Global Service,” which provides travel, service, and advocacy programming for thirty at-risk kids from Bushwick, Brooklyn, including a two week mission to South Africa to participate in service projects.  IF IT TAKES A VILLAGE, BUILD ONE also features interviews with other well known humanitarians, like PR powerhouse Terrie M. Williams, activist Bobby Shriver, and journalist Soledad O’Brien, as well as engaging sidebars with advice and facts about service. 

Warm, honest, and accessible, IF IT TAKES A VILLAGE, BUILD ONE is a hopeful reminder of all of the ways in which we can volunteer, donate, and become conscious givers in today’s society.  A must-have book for anyone who has ever wanted to make a difference in the world.   

#                  #                   #

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Malaak Compton-Rock lives in the New Jersey suburbs with her husband, Chris Rock, and two daughters. She holds a BFA in arts/production management from Howard University, sits on the board of directors for the Children’s Defense Fund, The Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation, and is a member of New York Women in Communications and the Cause Marketing Forum. In 2008, she was a co-judge on the Harpo/ABC-TV reality show Oprah’s Big Give. She recently founded the Angelrock Project—an online e-village that promotes volunteerism, social responsibility, and sustainable change.  The organization can be found at http://www.angelrockproject.com/.

IF IT TAKES A VILLAGE, BUILD ONE

How I Found Meaning Through a Life of Service and 100+ Ways You Can Too 

By Malaak Compton-Rock    

Published by Broadway Books, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group,

a division of Random House, Inc.

Hardcover; $23.99 

ISBN: 978-07679-3170-0 

http://www.broadwaybooks.com/

http://www.angelrockproject.com/

For more information about IF IT TAKES A VILLAGE, BUILD ONE or to schedule an interview with Malaak Compton-Rock, please contact Rachel Rokicki at 212-782-8455 or rrokicki@randomhouse.com.

  **PLEASE SEND A TEARSHEET OF ANY REVIEW OR MENTION**