£1,100.42 raised for Book Aid International
Our annual library fines donation event, run in conjunction with ESCA to celebrate World Book Day, raised a grand total of £1,100.42 for Book Aid International.
The original 5 day period was extended to give library users the option to donate any fines paid at a Library Helpdesk between Monday 26 February and Tuesday 6 March to Book Aid International, a charity which sources and sends books to communities around the world. Just last week a consignment of 7000 books arrived in Mosul to help rebuild the university which had been destroyed by Islamic State.
The Community Ambassador for Book Aid International sent the following messages of thanks.
To those who helped during the event:
Dear supporters, I want to thank you directly for the part you played in organizing, advertising and running the library fines donation day in aid of Book Aid International. We are especially grateful that you extended the event after all the snow! World Book Day plays a huge part in our annual fundraising efforts, so it was wonderful not to lose out this year through the weather disruption. Thanks to your hard work and generosity, we hope to reach our target of sending over 1,000,000 books this year to reach an average of 25,000,000 readers!
To all library users:
Huge thanks to everyone who paid their library fines on and around World Book day last week! You raised an amazing £1,100.42 for Book Aid International – a fantastic total which will enable Book Aid International to send another 600 books to people who don't have access to libraries like yours! To show you the impact of your support, I want to direct you to Yvonne’s story (https://www.bookaid.org/story/beating-odds-kakuma-refugee-camp/), a 22 year-old refugee based in northern Kenya who hopes soon to get a scholarship to study at University in Canada. She says this: "From my childhood I have seen people succeeding through education – and you get education through books. So, for me, my dream is to go out of the camp and become someone who has an identity in a country – so I can no longer be called a refugee. I am going to achieve through books." Thank you for playing a part in making books and information accessible to people like Yvonne. Whether learning to read, studying for school or university, looking for vital health information, finding out about a new career, or simply seeking an hour of escapism, the books you are enabling us to send will be devoured by children and adults alike.
(Ed. this article was originally published on 20 Mar, 2018)