On the 18th of December the LRC hosted our first Big Book Bonanza. This event was organised to raise money for the charity Read for Good, with the hopes of raising at least £50 for a specially designed mobile bookcase in a children’s hospital. Just like children in schools, children in hospital benefit hugely from stories and books. Reading is an escape, a comfort, a source of joy that should be available for everyone. Read for Good provides a regularly updated mobile bookcase full of popular and current books for all ages and children unable to leave their beds can choose books from the bookcase which wheels right up to their bedside. They also provide storytellers to bring the books alive and add excitement to the day.
In the weeks leading up to the 18th, staff and students donated hundreds of books for the LRC to sell and in the end we had five tables full of books! We had cookbooks and history books; children’s fiction and senior fiction; even a whole section just for Terry Pratchett books! Mrs Hull beautifully wrapped a selection of books to be surprise presents for family members – you wouldn’t know what book was inside but that was part of the surprise – all the students had to do was add their parent’s name to the label and Christmas was sorted! The Bonanza was so popular that we ran it for another two days, with students regularly coming back to buy even more books.
We are pleased to announce that in the end we smashed our target of £50 and raised £216.20! As we raised so much more money than we expected we decided to donate enough to Read for Good for three mobile bookcases, as well as donating to the BookTrust. BookTrust was raising money for festive parcels for disadvantaged and vulnerable children over the holidays and we donated enough money to support six children this year.
Our Big Book Bonanza was so successful that you can expect another one soon! Thank you to everyone who donated books and donated money.
ICC Learning Resource Centre 