Year 11 Community Services students were hard at work this morning, painting boxes that will allow children everywhere to access books and improve their literacy.
The students are volunteering for the Bendigo Book Box program, an initiative that began in 2015 between Bendigo Kiwanis Club, Communities for Children and Bendigo Health that allows children to take a book, bring it home, then swap or return the book for free.
The Book Boxes can be found all around the Bendigo region in places like doctors’ waiting rooms, hairdressers, primary schools and public places.
“It’s a great opportunity for students to be part of a genuine community program,” BSSC teacher Peter Burns said. “The boxes are being constructed by inmates at Loddon Prison from timber donated by Bendigo Kitchens, and the paint students are using was donated by Haymes PaintRight Bendigo. The Bendigo Volunteer Resource Centre has been instrumental in connecting the students with Kiwanis.”
If you have any pre-loved children’s books you could donate to the program, you can place them in the collection box at the General Office.
