Dymocks Children’s Charities (DCC) and SchoolAid have partnered together to support the Cabbage Tree Island community through their flood recovery efforts in 2022-2023. Cabbage Tree Island Public School is in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales which experienced intense rainfall and storms during the 2022 Australian east coast floods.
The Cabbage Tree Island community was evacuated from the island and was faced with the difficult task of rebuilding their homes, school and lives. The entire island was submerged because of the flooding.
In response, DCC and SchoolAid sprung to action and joined forces to establish a sense of normality and continuity for the children through the power of books. With the generous support of donors, SchoolAid donated $22,000 towards flood relief for Cabbage Tree Island Public School which was matched by DCC to offer a substantial library regeneration program valued at over $44,000.
Library Regeneration Program
DCC’s Library Regeneration program stocks school libraries with brand-new books of their choice. The school selects books from a catalogue of over 2,600 quality titles to ensure the books target the specific needs, interests, and curriculum of the school community.
In November 2022, Cabbage Tree Island School was able to re-open in their temporary Wardell campus location. This is just the first step in the school’s flood recovery journey. Ready to welcome the students on their first day back at school were over 1,500 books.
Commenting on the impact of the program, school principal Dyonne Anderson shared “our library now has books that students can read, and teachers can use in their classrooms. Our school lost all its resources in the flood, so the program is greatly appreciated. It allows students to have access to books after 9 months with very few books.”
“We were able to select from a great range of books and topics that our students are interested in reading. We have to rebuild our whole library, so these first books are extremely important to get us started in our rebuild. The program contributes to their health and wellbeing which is a focus for our school especially at this time.”
Melanie Smith, General Manager of Dymocks Children’s Charities said “the strength and unity of the Cabbage Tree Island community and school was so evident at every step of our time working with them. Dymocks Children’s Charities with the help of SchoolAid was pleased to get books and puzzles into children’s hands to offer a small distraction and ensure children don’t lose their sense of play, imagination and fun in very difficult and confronting circumstances.”