DONATING CHILDREN’S BOOKS
In South Africa we have a pressing need to develop a national culture of reading. To fall in love with reading, children need access to books. Not just educational books, but books that stimulate their minds, entertain and delight them and stir their creativity and imagination. The easiest way to help is to donate books or support a literacy organisation.
Just over 50% of South African families own no books for recreational or leisure time reading.
It’s essential to publish and distribute books in the official languages. It’s also important for all children to become fluent in English so they can enter the global workplace. Once the wonderful world of books is opened up to a child you will give them a gift that lasts a lifetime.
Has your child outgrown his picture books or early readers? Donate your old children’s books to your local library, children’s hospital or shelter. Alternatively, donate your books to an organisation that will distribute them to schools and organisations in need.
LITERACY ORGANISATIONS
**PLEASE NOTE THAT THE BOOK TREE DOES NOT COLLECT OR DISTRIBUTE ANY BOOKS. WE PROVIDE A LIST OF COMPANIES WHO DO SO BELOW:
- Nal’ ibali – www.nalibali.org They have a list of organisations needing books.
- The Link Literacy Project are based in Johannesburg and they run reading classes every week at selected schools. They require primary school books.
- Shine Literacy are a children’s literacy organisation based in Cape Town and Durban and there are many ways you can get involved. T: +27 (0) 21 762 4320or email: info@shineliteracy.org.za Durban: https://www.facebook.com/ShineDurban/
- The Bookery are Cape Town based but they open children’s libraries around the country. Contact them for more info on +27 (0) 21 461 4189 or email: info@thebookery.org.za
- Steve Biko Centre in King Williams Town. nomsad@srmholdings.com Their Johannesburg office will collect the books from you.
- National Library of South Africa – www.nlsa.ac.za
- To donate money towards books in native languages – https://www.facebook.com/Littlehandstrust/ or email Carole Bloch at info@praesa.org.za
- International Book Giving Day – http://bookgivingday.com
- Biblionef SA – http://biblionefsa.org.za/books They donate new books through your donations
- help2read – http://www.help2read.org This developmental organisation addresses child literacy by providing supplementary literacy tutoring in disadvantaged primary schools through a largely volunteer workforce.
- Book Dash do wonderful work by creating children’s books in a day through volunteeers in the writing, graphic design, editing and illustration fields. Find out how you can get involved.
- Youth Potential South Africa (YOUPSA) share the love of reading in the rural Eastern Cape and establish youth-run Mobile Village Libraries & Reading Clubs. Children in this area have no access to books for reading for pleasure other than through YOUPSA. They’re looking for books in English, Afrikaans & isiXhosa.
Let us know if you are an organisation providing books for children to read and we’ll add you to this list.
Recent Comments