Melbourne beauty salon owner, Sam Bonney had been travelling to the Philippines for years before conceiving of a plan to help local students.
Her new charity, Give a Textbook, takes unused and secondhand textbooks donated in Australia and places them with schools in impoverished Filipino communities. In this way, Ms Bonney feels her idea follows the “teach a man to fish” philosophy of giving.
“It’s our way of empowering the community, and further support young people so they will be able to overcome the challenges of what the future holds,” she said.
The new non-profit is currently seeking donations of textbooks mainly for high school years 7-12, whether they be specific subject textbooks (Mathematics, Science, English etc.) or associated reference books like dictionaries, atlases and encyclopaedia.
“Currently, people can reach out to us through our Facebook page and from there they will be able to locate their nearest drop off point,” Ms Bonney explains.
The Give a Textbook Facebook page currently has 255 ‘likes’ and growing.