News Americas, TORONTO, Canada, Weds. May 9, 2018: A Caribbean born teacher’s dream of expanding child literacy in the region is being multiplied, thanks to a new partnership.
Seasoned North York, Toronto elementary school teacher and Jamaican-national, Myrna Gabbidon is getting a boost from Sunwing Foundation which flew in just under 3,000 new and gently used children’s books to Jamaica for Read Across Jamaica Day, yesterday May 8th.
Sunwing Foundation recently launched the Flying Start program, which joined forces with Gabbidon’s ‘Books Give Us Wings’ organization.
A quantity of books donated were collected as part of the Sunwing Foundation’s Flying start program that seeks to provide children with all the necessary supplies for learning in destinations served by the travel company.
Gabbidon also worked tirelessly, reaching out to students at several schools across Toronto for help in order that a special delivery could be made in time for the national reading awareness day.
“My primary goal with this initiative is to ensure every child owns a book, as I believe literacy and art are both key to helping children become successful in their education and develop into contributing members of society,” said Gabbidon. “When you give a child a book, you give them wings; enabling their imagination to take flight and to become passionate and curious about the world.”
Sunwing’s local destination team, Sunwing Experiences, coordinated deliveries of the books to select local elementary schools throughout Jamaica with Gabbidon on May 8th, and today, May 9th.
The Sunwing Foundation established the Flying Start program earlier this year to support students in the Caribbean by providing them with books and education supplies. Today’s donation is expected to positively impact thousands of Jamaican students.
“The Sunwing Foundation is committed to supporting youth and education projects in the destinations we serve,” said Stephen Hunter, CEO of Sunwing Travel Group. “We are pleased to help promote literacy on Jamaica’s National Reading Day.”
For more information on the Sunwing foundation, visit sunwingfoundation.com.
About The Sunwing Foundation
A charitable initiative established by the Hunter family, the Sunwing Foundation reflects the Sunwing Travel Group’s enduring commitment to the support and development of youth in the communities where it operates in the form of project funding or the transport of humanitarian aid. The Sunwing Foundation passes on 100% of the charitable donations it raises to the communities that need it the most, funding educational and skills development projects to provide a direct, impactful, and sustainable improvement to quality of life for years to come.
About Books Give Us Wings
Books Give Us Wings is a charitable initiative created and led by seasoned school teacher from the North York area of Toronto, Myrna Gibbon. The idea for Books Give Us Wings was sparked in 2011 when Marguerite Jackson, Director of North York Board of Education at the time, collaborated with a number of educators, including Gabbidon, to provide each elementary classroom a bin of books the students could relate to – both fiction and non-fiction.
