May 04, 2010
Panmedia joined a few hundred children and their parents at the Kids Day for the Rotary Race to Literacy Book Drive in Emancipation Park last weekend. We let kids play our Grab Di Bunny game on Facebook, and offered a hands on demo of an iPad. We also handed out a flyer promoting reading.
Needless to say, we had a hard time making sure everyone got their turn. Fortunately, there were lots of other things to distract them. The event featured body painting, Shakti yoga sessions, readings and Dora the Explorer! Kids and parents lined up patiently to participate in the many activities (see video). Some of the children enjoyed the wide expanse of the park and ran in all the directions that were possible.
Chris Issa was one of the parents reading along with his child, daughter Mattea.
Of course, the main purpose of the event was to begin the countdown for the book drive. It was wonderfully successful where that is concerned. In the first day alone, 270,456 books were collected in nine hours. The previous record was 242,624. By the end of the second day, 546,053 books were collected by the Rotary Clubs of Jamaica, organisers of the event that is spear headed by Marketing Consultant Deika Morrison. “It’s great to see that Jamaicans have supported this venture with such enthusiasm,” she told Panmedia.
The books will be donated to the Jamaica Library Service. The book drive continues until May 7th at the Emancipation Park.
View more photos from the Kids Day here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=170278&id=278728759546&l=b1ec6f207a