The Ausenco Foundation is proud to announce a partnership with Books in Homes Australia which aims to help children discover the joy and benefits of reading through choosing, naming and owning their own books and being rewarded for reading.
The Ausenco Foundation’s funding will enable the rollout of the Books in Homes program to around 125 students across Prep to Year 3 at Durack State School in Brisbane and Kindergarten to Grade 3 at St Gerard’s Primary School in Westminster, Perth.
As part of the program, students in those year levels will choose and receive three books in Terms 2 and 4 in 2014 and Term 1 in 2015 as well as personalised book labels and waterproof book bags. Books will also be provided to the libraries of the two schools and additional books will be provided for use by teachers as rewards as part of the “Caught being good” initiative.
Ausenco Foundation Chairman Zimi Meka said he was delighted to be able to support children’s development.
“We believe that all children should have the opportunity to discover and develop their full potential,” Zimi said. “So we are very pleased to play a small part in helping the students at Durack State School and St Gerard’s through this program.”
Kim Kingston, General Manager, Books in Homes Australia commented: “Both Durack State School and St Gerard’s Primary School are absolutely thrilled by the Ausenco Foundation’s generosity and are looking forward to meeting the Ausenco Team at the June Book Giving Assemblies. Books in Homes would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the Ausenco Foundation for supporting this vital reading project!”
The Ausenco Foundation’s financial contribution will be supplemented by members of the Ausenco Gives Back committees in Brisbane and Perth who will volunteer their time to participate in the Book Giving assemblies and begin to build relationships with the schools involved in the program.
The Books in Homes Australia program is based on successful similar programs in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, which have reinforced the well-researched benefits of children being read to by others, being able to choose their own books and having ownership over their books. These programs have been shown to significantly improve language, cognitive and social development for children involved.
Over the last 12 years, Books in Homes Australia has delivered over 1.5 million books of choice to more than 160,000 students from 400 low socio-economic schools and 2,000 families from 50 supported playgroups in predominantly remote and at risk communities across Australia. For more information on Books in Homes Australia, click here.
The Ausenco Foundation aims to make a positive and sustainable difference to the people in the communities in which we work. It provides financial and other support to a range of worthwhile causes across the regions in which we operate. For more information on The Ausenco Foundation, click here.