Wednesday, November 02, 2011

Grandparents Day



One charity has decided that there is a space for another special day to go hand in hand with Mother’s and Father’s Day.
The literacy charity, Duffy Books in Homes, decided to make a point of rewarding grandparents who have gone the extra mile.  They may have helped with coaching a sports team, doing maintenance around the school or even simply spending extra time helping their grandchildren with their reading.

Schools in the Duffy programme then choose one lucky grandparent to win the Caught Being a Good Grandparent Award.  Schools choose their lucky grandparent in many different ways.  Children might write stories or poems about them or if the choice is too hard then there might be a lucky draw.  They are then recognised at a special assembly during the week of 7 November.
This year’s award is New Zealand from Above by David Wall and Philip Temple, published by New Holland Publishers.  The book celebrates a land of outstanding beauty in a selection of more than 140 breathtaking aerial images, representing more than a decade’s work and hundreds of hours’ flying time.  The book is accompanied by a special certificate.

Duffy Books in Homes General Manager, Linda Vagana, says “With grandparents taking such an active role in supporting families we think it’s important that they are recognised, just like mums and dads.”

Since the official launch in 1995 with 80 schools, 16,000 students and 14 sponsors, the Duffy Books in Homes programme has grown to encompass 541 schools, around 100,000 students and more than 200 sponsors in 2011.  More than seven million books have been distributed to children in low-decile schools since its inception and the programme now distributes more than 600,000 books annually.

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