To honour Nelson Mandela’s legacy, The Civic Engagement (CE) Unit in collaboration with Reading Champions, the Faculty of Applied Sciences (FAS), CPUT Libraries and the Marketing and Communication Department (MCD) are encouraging the CPUT community to donate pre-used or unused reading materials from your homes, friends and neighbours.
This is part of the Office of the -Chancellor’s invitation to staff and students to participate in CPUT’s Mandela Day celebrations. According to Mandela: “When we read, we are able to travel to many places, meet many people and understand the world”.
“Help us to celebrate the legacy of Tata Madiba by donating books and other reading materials which contribute to the educational development of our communities,” says Manager of Civic Engagement Unit: Jacqui Scheepers, as she appeals for donations. Scheepers says the aim of this initiative is to contribute to the enhancement of language and literacy by contributing towards building “a culture of reading in our communities”.
She adds that the project grew after the CE was approached by FAS with the concept and for further support for the Reading Champions. A similar project was being planned as part of the Community Engagement Student Academy (CESA) and so the decision was made to combine the project into one for broader impact. The collaboration, together with the CPUT libraries and MCD, gave rise to the establishment of the CPUT Mandela Day task team which is responsible for driving this project.
The CPUT community is encouraged to donate new or pre-owned books and reading materials of all genres from fiction, non-fiction, children’s books, magazines and many more and the materials can target any age group. The drop off points for donations will be at the respective campus libraries and will be available until 15 June 2024. The community reading programmes will take place on Mandela Day on 18 July 2024 at various locations in the proximity of the campus.
“Reusing pre-owned reading materials is also environmentally responsible as it minimizes waste. However, kindly do not donate broken or damaged items!”
Only staff members and students will participate in the distribution of the reading materials to communities as this is organised by CPUT. However, community members can also donate reading materials through CPUT staff and students. Students and staff can join the Reading Champions, FAS, and CESA, students and CE to distribute the donated reading materials and to read to communities. For logistical purposes, only staff and students who have registered will be allowed to participate in the community visits.
The FAS, CESA, students, CE will distribute the donated reading materials and will read to communities. “In the spirit of Ubuntu, we encourage all staff and students to gather pre-used or unused reading materials form your homes and that of family, friends and neighbours and to donate these for the benefit of our communities. Many schools and organisations do not have the means to purchase reading materials and our hope is that we can bring the magic of reading to the lives of our communities,” Scheepers remarks.
Kindly find RSVP link for the Mandela Day event: https://forms.office.com/r/QBj2QGDCXk.
For more information, contact Gayelin Roman at: romang@cput.ac.za or 021 959 6911.
