The Tribune

FREEPORT – The classrooms at East End, Bartlett Hill, Martin Town and Holmes Rock primary schools will be a bit fuller after receiving an estimated $150,000 worth of reading material and educational literature.

The donation came thanks to the efforts of the Rotary Clubs of Lucaya and Coral Gables, along with local companies the Grand Bahama Shipyard and Control Chemicals.

The effort was spearheaded by Rotary Club of Lucaya president Billy Jane Ferguson.

“The Rotary Club of Lucaya’s main mandate is to make sure that we put literacy in the forefront and with it being Literacy Month in February, we thought it fitting to partner with Coral Gables Rotary Club in making this a joint effort in supplying the schools here on the island with these books.

“It’s very important to Rotary to give back to this community not just by doing projects, but by making sure that we put the materials that are needed in the hands of these little darlings and I am sure the schools here on Grand Bahama will be able to benefit from all of these books.”

The Grand Bahama Shipyard (GBS) financially supported this donation and helped co-ordinate shipping of the palettes loaded with books to the island on Celebration Cruise Lines.

GBS Youth Benefit Fishing Tournament director, Ed Pavey, said: “It’s been a real joint effort to get these books here to Grand Bahama and I’m very pleased that it finally came to fruition, I want to thank all of those persons involved in the process for their support and assistance in the name of promoting literacy.”

One such supporter was Control Chemicals. Manager Antonia Lord said she was thrilled about her company’s involvement.

“Our company’s assistance in helping to transport these items was a plus and it is so good to hear about such an exciting venture. Mr Whan Sr, who is the owner of Control Chemicals, quickly jumped on board once Mr Pavey introduced the whole idea of assisting in this area of literacy,” she said.

Deputy Director of Education, Sandra Edgecombe, said she was pleased to see a project that will show youngsters that reading can be enjoyable.

“As I represent the students who will open these books and discover that reading is truly fun, I extend a special thanks to Mr Reuben Byrd, who is the Shipyard’s Chief Operating Officer and tournament originator, and Mr Ed Pavey for all that they’ve done,” she said.

She also announced that any books not used by the schools listed will be donated to the Ministry of Education’s Resource Library for public use.

After the presentation, principals of the schools and teachers went through the books and chose material appropriate for their schools.

Education officials also spent some time reviewing the wonderful array of donated material and were thrilled to see so much educational material for their children.