infonews.co.nz
INDEX
BOOKS

The Gift of Words

Saturday 4 August 2007, 2:23PM

By Far North District Council

454 views

NORTHLAND

When Scholastic New Zealand pondered how best it could help families who lost everything in last month’s storm, the answer was books; 32 boxes of them destined for children whose bedtime stories were washed away in the floods.

Scholastic sales manager Rob Southam travelled from Auckland to deliver the $15,000 worth of new books to the Far North District Council for distribution to Far North flood families.

“Because of my work with the Books in Homes programme, I knew there were a number of families in this area who had a limited supply of books to start with,” she said. “When I thought of them being washed away or damaged in the floods, I knew there was an opportunity for Scholastic to help.

“I didn’t want to leave the kids without books, especially at a time like this. Books bring joy, laughter and inspiration – all much needed qualities in testing times such as these floods.”

Far North Mayor Yvonne Sharp said the children of flood-hit families would be given not one book, but a supply of books so that one small but very important part of their lives could be returned to normal.

“This wonderful gift means the bedtime story can still be told,” she said. “It brings some normality back to the lives of children whose homes have been turned upside down by the floods.”

Mayor Sharp said the generous gift was just one of many inspiring stories to emerge in the weeks following the floods. “The spirit of giving is alive and well in the Far North,” she added.