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Student-leaders spark national ‘camp-out’ to fund school libraries in Nepal


WEBWIRE

In a national Queens-led initiative, ten students at universities across Canada will pitch tents and move into university libraries to raise money for literacy.

They aim to bring in $20,000 in donations coast to coast to construct five school libraries in Nepal, with donations being made through the internationally renowned charity, Room to Read.

"It’s not easy missing classes and living in a roped-off area for 10 days,” says Queen’s student John MacDonald, Discover the Reality of Educating All Minds (DREAM) Co-Chair and camper in last year’s event. “But it’s a small price to pay if we can improve the lives of the children we’re helping. They don’t have a library to read in let alone live in.”

Queen’s student-led club, DREAM, this year expanded its annual Live-in for Literacy campus initiative to include universities across the country.

This is the third annual Live-in for Literacy at Stauffer Library at Queen’s but the first ever in Queen’s Engineering’s Integrated Learning Centre, in Koerner Library at the University of British Columbia, Desmarais Library at Laurentian University, and Queen Elizabeth II Library at Memorial University.

“On a scale of one to ten... my anticipation is about a 12,” says Danielle Barron, one of the campers at Memorial in Newfoundland. “This is truly an amazing cause, and words cannot even describe how incredible it feels to be a part of it"

Two students will live in each library from Friday, January 18 at 1 p.m. EST until Monday, January 28 at 1 p.m. EST. They will remain in the library 24 hours a day, with only five minutes of every hour permitted for bathroom or other necessary breaks.

In the past two years the event raised $17,000 to help build a computer lab in Cambodia and three school libraries in Nepal.

“What these students in Canada are doing is going to have a direct impact on the lives of thousands of children and I support their energy, enthusiasm and ’Go Big’ spirit!” says John Wood, CEO and Founder of Room to Read. “Nepal’s children desperately need our help - there are almost 800 million people in the world who lack basic literacy and Room to Read strives to break the cycle of poverty in the developing world one child at a time.”

This year’s event will be broadcast live 24 hours a day via webcam. More information on the event and on how to donate can also be found on this website.

Contacts: Ellen Miles, DREAM, (613) 583-9176, 5em9@queensu.ca or Communications Assistant Molly Kehoe, 613 533-2877, molly.kehoe@queensu.ca, Queen’s News and Media Services.



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