THE students at Riverstone Public School have launched a unique crowdfunding campaign to help rejuvenate their tired library.
After rodents and water destroyed a large section of the old collection, the school was able to obtain enough funding to restore the building into a vibrant, new space.
However, it is now missing one thing: books.
Due to the required culling of both damaged books, and outdated books that had come to the school second hand through donations, the library collection is currently severely under-stocked.
Dymocks Children’s Charities (DCC) – a tax-deductible charity – has committed to a Library Regeneration program at the school, and will match the money raised, returning it to the school in brand new books.
Riverstone Public School principal, Kylie Becker, said having books and literature in the lives of young children is an invaluable lifelong learning asset.
“Without a strong sense of literacy knowledge and understanding, the traditions and stories of our world and imagination is lost,” she said.
“Dymocks supporting our school in this community project will help to create an injection of literature that otherwise would take years to replenish.
“We are unable to support the gaps in the library resourcing and moving into the future of teaching and learning at Riverstone Public School, we need to have our resources in the best possible condition and stock.”
Riverstone’s crowdfunding target is $10,000, which means DCC would deliver $20,000 worth of books to the library.
However DCC fundraising manager, Gary Minford, said his organisation would still match the amount raised by the community, even if falls short of the target.
“Our sole purpose is to get as many books into the hands of kids who need them as possible. If they only raised $500, they’d still get $1,000 of books,” he said.
DCC worked with 13 schools around NSW to improve their libraries last financial year.
“Quite often the schools are in areas where the parents are unable to contribute. They don’t have much spare capital. Quite often these kids haven’t had their own or new books,” said Mr Minford.
The children and teachers at the school will be able to choose which books they receive.
“We can provide pretty much any book that you can buy in Dymocks. The majority of them come from the NSW Premier's Reading Challenge booklist so the school can partake in the Challenge,” said Mr Minford.
“We have relationships with every publisher in Australia, so the catalogue includes thousands of titles to choose from.
“Research has shown an interest and love of reading at a young age is a bigger indicator of life success, and that’s why we’re keen to get books into these areas. We’re giving them books that they want to read.”
The crowdfunding campaign runs until Friday, September 2. Donations can be made at www.chuffed.org/project/books-for-riverstone-public.
