Atlantis, Paradise Island is inviting one and all to get into the holiday spirit and give a new or gently used favourite children’s book in support of its Annual Holiday Book Drive benefitting the Atlantis Against Illiteracy initiative.

The endeavour, which is being spearheaded by the Atlantis Library and Scotiabank, is set for November 23rd from 11:00am to 3:00pm at the entrance to Kelly’s House and Home in the Mall at Marathon. Books can also be dropped off at Gems Radio station on Friday, November 22nd between the hours of 9am – 5pm.

“In our effort to, at the very least, put a dent in the problem of illiteracy here in The Bahamas, Atlantis, through the Atlantis Against Illiteracy programme, has partnered with Scotiabank, Gems Radio and Kelly’s to try to collect as many books as possible for the purpose of making those books available to as many local children as possible. We are asking people throughout our communities to donate at least one book so that we can in turn pass those books on to the various primary school libraries and help to further expose our youngsters to the wonderful worlds that reading and the imagination can create,” explains Stephaney Davis, Librarian at the Atlantis Library and organizer of the book drive.

Persons interested in participating in this very worthy cause can bring a book that’s in good condition, or buy a new one from Kelly’s. Anyone who donates can enter to win a Scotiabank gift basket or dinner for two at Atlantis, Paradise Island. Those who purchase a book from Kelly’s can also enter to win a separate Kelly’s Holiday Gift Basket.

The Atlantis Against Illiteracy initiative has grown since its launch in October 2012, leading efforts to raise over 1000 books, which have been donated to local primary schools. According to Davis, “20% of the local population are said to have ‘below basic’ skills and are unable to read or even fill out a job application. We want to decrease this statistic and we feel the key to this goal lies with our youth. We want our kids to succeed and this book drive effort is just one of several initiatives that we hope will catch on in pursuit of our goal.”

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