Literacy Nova Scotia volunteers distributing 2,000 donated books
150 volunteers are delivering boxes of books to 22 community groups across the province
Teams of volunteers are delivering more than 2,000 donated books to 22 literacy organizations across Nova Scotia for Family Literacy Day.
Literacy Nova Scotia is hosting the event and the books were donated by First Book Canada, a non profit organization.
"A lot of the community-based learning organizations can't afford the shipping costs to get the books delivered directly to them so this was an opportunity for us to help them with that," said Jayne Hunter, Literacy Nova Scotia's executive director.
She says the books range from hard-cover children's storybook collections to young adult fiction. Growing up in the country, Hunter says she fondly remembers when a bookmobile came to her community offering new titles.
"We were fortunate, we got new books at Christmas and birthdays but not everybody has that opportunity," she said. "It's one thing to go to the library but to have your very own is special too."
About 150 volunteers from Life on Life network, which develops leadership material, gathered at Claude Hamilton's home in Fall River to pack and organize the shipments Saturday morning.
He said with Family Literacy Day coming up on Jan. 27, he wanted to make sure the books were delivered on time. The annual day aims to raise awareness about the importance of reading as a family.
"Reading has added a huge value to my life," said Hamilton, the founder and owner of the company.
"We want to give back to the communities that we do business in and Literacy Nova Scotia matches up exactly with our core values of adding value to people and helping them become more functional in their community."