Written by

Daphne Macnaughton, 1000×5 Peninsula Co-Ordinator

When the PCEC “1000 X 5” Project began in April 2008, the volunteers and I set a very tentative goal of collecting 1200 books.  We adjusted that goal twice in the first year and now—all these years later—we have collected over 100 times as many books for redistribution to children and families living on the Saanich Peninsula!  While many of these books come to us as a result of donations from ORCA Book Publishers and Discover books, and through thrift store purchases we make with financial donations; the vast majority of books have been donated by community members.

On a regular basis, I receive emails asking about the “1000 X 5” Projects.  Some people want to know where they can donate books their children have outgrown; others ask how they can obtain books.  Here are parts of two such messages:

Our girls were lucky enough to receive the gift of books on a monthly subscription service from their grandparents…  for Christmas this year.  The girls receive a box by post once a month from a service called Lilly Post, which includes 4 lovely hard-covered books…  the girls loved the idea of donating their gently-used books on a monthly basis as new books come in…  to keep the rotation going and be able to give back the love of reading.

I have a 21month old daughter who loves to be read to…  We moved to the Island from XXX with only a car load of stuff, so basically just clothes.  I’ve been having trouble finding books that are affordable to us as we have a tight budget that gives us only extra for what we need and sadly books didn’t make the list.  I am a book worm myself and want her to grow up loving to read.  Someone pointed me to you and this program and I have no idea how it works or if there is a cost or how to begin.

Clearly, both of these parents value reading and want to support their children’s early literacy development.  The girls who receive books via their subscription are well-served and I was able to provide the parent who reached out to ask for books with information about locations where our gift bags of books are available.  There are still others we have yet to reach—people who have books they could pass along and those who are unaware that our projects supply good-quality books for free through many agencies.

With much help from project volunteers and generous supporters; the Peninsula, Victoria, and Westshore “1000 X 5” Projects can continue to receive books from families who have a surplus so they can be enjoyed by other children and families.  If you would like more information, or are able to help sustain our efforts, please contact one of the project leaders—Denise, Eileen, or Daphne.