School Book Drive Collects 7,800+ Books for Schools & Libraries

Last week, students at Esperanza High School in Anaheim, California held a book drive for Visions and collected over 7,800 books! It was an exceptional effort organized by ASB student leaders, Yvonne & Mignotae, and supported by the entire school. Approximately 2,300 culturally-appropriate academic textbooks, children's books, fiction and nonfiction works, and other books were sorted and will be shipped to local schools in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The remaining 5,500 books were donated to four grateful local libraries in Placentia, Anaheim, Orange, and Yorba Linda, California. Thank you to all who supported this fantastic effort. The books being shipped to Sri Lanka will serve Visions youth for many years to come.

It took Visions staff 3 days to sort through the thousands of books, which will be shipped to Sri Lanka and are due to arrive in Colombo on December 14, 2008. The books have been donated to Saiva Mangaiyar Vidyalayam (Hindu Ladies College), a school based in Sri Lanka's capital of Colombo which now serves over 2400 children, including many recently displaced youth. The school is run by Saiva Mangaiyar Kalagam, a nonprofit organization which Visions is partnering with on the Kalagam Visions Learning Centre (KVLC--due to begin construction shortly). The books will be added to the school's library and incorporated into the KVLC once it is complete. The teachers and students are very grateful to receive this generous donation.