The Rotaract Club of Santa Maria illuminated the halls of Perez Elementary School with Sunshine Pages. Last March 16, 2024, the Reading Corner Turnover and Book Donation Drive was the flagship project of the socio-civic club for the World Rotaract Week – a week-long celebration featuring large-scale projects of the numerous Rotaract Clubs across the Philippines to their communities. First of its kind, a Book Donation Drive was a perfect platform to deepen a student’s love for reading
Perez Elementary School, the beneficiary school is located at Sitio Perez in Cityland, Pulong Buhangin, Santa Maria. Situated on the outskirts of the town, the school does not receive much attention compared to other public schools located in Santa Maria. Given its geographic location, students come from different parts of the town in pursuit of getting their education even as far as walking miles just to be present in class.
In support of the Department of Education’s “Drop Everything and Read” initiative, ensuring that students are given reading spaces with several varieties of storybooks to read, Rotaract Club of Santa Maria has donated a reading corner filled with 677 books in which students can indulge in.
The Book Donation Drive was a combination of a book raffle, storytelling, snacks corner, games, and reading fiesta. The reading fiesta which was attended by over 200 students, teachers, and guests filled the school with different activities to immerse themselves in. There was the reading corner where students got to sit and read stories from kindhearted donors. Students designed their own bookmarks and colored some drawings at the art corner. They also had the chance to experience an arcade game through the nerf gun challenge prepared, had colorful designs adorn their faces through the face painting, capping off the experience with a photo booth where memories were captured to cherish in the long run.
With this, we have filled the gap of having a limited number of books and in return, have given more for the students to enjoy. In pursuit of our continued service to communities, through an agreement with the school administration, the Reading Corner will be maintained and different sets of students will have access to it weekly, ensuring that everyone is given the opportunity to find solace in the space.
The Reading Corner served as a bridge between enjoyment and education—showing that fostering development and providing a sanctuary for learning can be combined and done altogether. More than the celebration and diverse set of booths prepared, the event aimed to foster an environment where the joy of reading and learning would naturally flourish.
At the core of our advocacy is to provide access to educational resources that are highly beneficial to students. Highlighting one of Rotary’s areas of focus: Basic Education & Literacy. This Book Donation Drive is a testament to our unwavering dedication to fostering growth and nurturing learning—championing long-term projects that we bring forward to continuously create hope in the world.
