With 2021 coming to a close, another difficult Covid-19 Pandemic year almost gone, we have a little time to reflect on the many obstacles we’ve all faced, the challenges we’ve overcome, and the things that have helped us all learn and grow along the way.

Like many other individuals and organisations, Books in Homes has needed to continually adapt to enable the roll out of our programs during our 20th Anniversary year. However, in doing so, it is important to note we were not alone. With the enthusiastic support of our participating schools and communities, the dedication of our Sponsors, and the commitment of our Role Models to our cause, we were successful together in overcoming all that challenged us to deliver almost 109,000 books in this Covid-affected 2021.

In 2021, Books in Homes fulfilled 30,519 student orders and supplied 88,485 books-of-choice for our participating children to own and share in their own home. In addition, 15,744 books were supplied in Preview Packs that were integrated into school and community libraries for all participating children to access. A further 4,726 Caught Being Good books and Certificates were also distributed to the schools and communities to use as rewards for children for whatever reasons they determined. That’s a total of 108,955 books distributed this year! Well done and thank you to everyone involved with Books in Homes.

As I stated above, this, of course, would not have been possible without the help of our incredible Sponsors, Donors, Role Models and Supporters whose dedication, enthusiasm and commitment to the Books in Homes cause really made our job easy!  Thank you for all your help and support.

Our Program works best with longevity and continuity and many of our Sponsors are committed to achieving just that with the schools they support. We’re unbelievingly grateful, as are the children!

We’ve been overwhelmed with the support we’ve received as we approach the festive season. Our November story last month featuring Baryulgil Public School written by the school’s generous and supportive Sponsor, Clare Hastings from Write My Content, certainly hit the mark and prompted a flood of positive feedback on our program and what Books in Homes is about! Thank you, Clare, and thank you, Baryulgil Public School.

Books in Homes normally experiences a spike in private donations at this time of the year. Christmas is a time for giving and sharing, and the support for Books in Homes in our donations has not gone unnoticed, as we’ve seen an exceptionally generous flow of private donations over recent weeks. It’s heart-warming to witness our community think of others less fortunate at the time we turn to celebrate the festive season with our family and friends.

Books play a great part in the gift of giving at Christmas, and we thank you for thinking of those children around Australia who will most likely not receive a single book as a gift in their home. That’s why Books in Homes exists, and if you have any thoughts of making a Christmas wish for children, then please think of Books in Homes and help us start 2022 with even bigger goals!

We still have several days before the end of the year so if the timing is right, please consider donating to any of our campaigns that resonate with you. We have our general Books in Homes campaign where funds are used across Australia; our GIANTS Greater Western Sydney campaign which is gaining momentum for 2022 (more news on Greater Western Sydney initiatives coming in the January 2022 issue of THE BRIDGE); and our Postage Fund is always in need of donations to help us re-home our donated books across Australia (more on that next year as well!). Every dollar helps, and every book in the home makes a positive impact.

It’s time to sign off on 2021, and we do so with a big thank you! Thank you for being part of the Books in Homes story—a story that helps deliver our books with their stories to children in need across Australia.

Best wishes for Xmas and the New Year to you and your families!