Literacy programme, Duffy Books in Homes gifts books to low decile primary schools and early childhood centres nationwide. The organisation aims to inspire a love of books in children and break the cycle of ‘booklessness’ that perpetuates the high rate of illiteracy amongst New Zealand adults.

This year, Duffy Books has paired with 62 Warehouse Stationery’s stores to support a local low-decile school within the Store’s area.Customers are asked to ‘add a dollar’ at the checkout, which will helpchildren at each of these schools to select a book, or books, that they can take home and treasure.

Lincoln Road Store Manager Gina said, “My team are excited about this campaign because it is such a great project - to be able to give reading books to kids who may not have many books of their own, and involve our customers in the process, really brings us together.

"I think it is our responsibility as a NZ business to support charities and initiatives such as Duffy books – and I am proud to work for a business that does this."

Duffy Books in Homes empower the kids through ‘book ownership’ and ‘book choice’ – and every child on the programme, regardless of age, will receive a minimum of 5 free books a year.

The books themselves are gifted to the kids at special ‘Role Model assemblies’, where a speaker will chat to the kids about the importance of reading, and how books and reading helped them achieve their goals and made them successful in their chosen careers, before presenting the children with their books.

As a part of our partnership with Duffy Books, our team members are invited to attend and help hand out the books to the kids at these assemblies in their local partner schools. It is a great experience that allows our team members an opportunity to see the joy that they bring to the kids through their hard work and fundraising efforts.

Levin Team Member Carolyn said, “I had the pleasure of handing out Duffy books to a classroom, and the looks on the kids’ faces were priceless - some of them had to be convinced that the books were free, and theirs to keep! I was really proud to be a part of the initiative, and it made me proud to work at Warehouse Stationery.”

Duffy Books Relationship Manager Henry told us, “We greatly value this partnership with Warehouse Stationery and the work they’re putting in to help raise awareness and funds through the campaigns. They’re our champions helping make a difference in the community.”

Warehouse Stationery has a long history of helping and supporting its local community partners, with Duffy Books in Homes being one of three national charity partners.Others are Canteen and The Salvation Army.

Along with The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery has partnered with Duffy Books on a local level since 2012 and since then, with the help of our customers and our team members, we have been able to give out over 40,000 books.