Fairfield Rotary answers schools literacy need

Fairfield Rotary Club donates books to aid literacy.

Local schools got a boost this week when they received a donation of school books from the Rotary Club of Fairfield.
Each year the Fairfield Rotary Club donates dictionaries to year 6 students at a number of local schools as part of the Club’s Literacy Outreach Programme. This year the club has extended the programme to include a donation of brand new primary school readers to schools in Hamilton and the greater Waikato area.

Michael Cahill, Fairfield Rotary Club president, said it was important to make a contribution that benefits education.
“This is one of the many community based projects that our Rotary Club will be undertaking this year as we fully embrace the 2014 theme, which is to 'Light Up Rotary'.  Literacy is one of the main focuses of Rotary International and we are hoping to light up children's lives by donating these books to their schools'.

The books can be used for everyday reading activities and some books will be used for many years to come he said.  ‘We were given an opportunity to acquire a very large amount of these brand new books, and have decided to share them amongst the schools of Hamilton and the wider Waikato.

Here is what Lisa Deane, the Principal of Fairfield Primary school had to say, ‘Just wanted to take the opportunity to thank you and Rotary again for the generous donation of books – it allowed us to put an extra 25 sets of readers into our reading room.  We tallied up the cost of having to purchase these books ourselves, and we would have been looking at well over $2000.00’.

Schools in the pacific islands have also benefitted from the donation as we have  sent 30 boxes to schools in Papua New Guinea and 30 boxes to Fijian schools on Taveuni.

Fairfield Rotary Club members are now busy sorting the 36,000 books which are all brand new into various age groups, before making arrangements for their delivery to the schools.

Any school wishing to receive a donation of these books is asked to make contact with Fairfield Rotary on 027 316 1182