Yearly, April 23 is the World Book Day, proclaimed by UNESCO. The message of this day is to ensure that books are accessible to everyone and everywhere. International School Eindhoven is an active donator for Read to Grow books.
The largest part of Read to Grow books is being collected by schools. Mainly Dutch and European International Schools. One of the most active donators is International School Eindhoven. Lynne Starrenburg, the head librarian of the school originally from New Zealand, leads the effort to collect books every year as part of the celebration of The World Book Day. The school has been involved since 2003 and has won twice the annual World Book Day Award, which is given to the school which collects the highest average number of books per student.
Read to Grow is existing for 15 years and is collecting, sorting and donating English and French books to children in developing countries. Mainly they receive the books from international schools, libraries and private individuals. Every year on 23 April, the Read to Grow vans travel throughout the country to collect books. The books are then sorted, counted and packed in the storage space in Boekel (East Brabant).
Organizations in developing countries can request books for a specific project. These partner organizations collect the books ourselves and provide transport to the destination country. Since 2012, 750.000 books have been distributed to 65 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America in particular through 900 projects in collaboration with 230 partner organizations.
The demand for books is still increasing. Certainly French-language books are in great need. That is why more help is always welcome.
You can donate your English and French used books, give more publicity to Read to Grow, request our poster and brochures, invite a volunteer at school, become a donor or an ambassador, or strengthen our team of volunteers. SYou can start to change a Kid´s world… Here you can find their Facebook page or contact them through info@readtogrow.eu
Edited for Eindhoven News: Irene Martens
