Student collects 432 books via FB drive
sharjah — A Sharjah student has collected and donated more than 400 storybooks to the Indian Association in Sharjah in an effort to get residents to read more.
Vibhali Shetty, 11, managed to collect a total of 432 books from friends and relatives in just 10 days after she uploaded posters about her campaign onto her Facebook account.
Shetty, a Grade 7 student in Our Own English School Sharjah, said she carried out her campaign, Share Our Wor(l)ds, in hope that people will start to read more.
“When I went to the association, I noticed that they had a shortage of books. They needed new ones and better ones. So, I decided to do a campaign,” Shetty said. “I uploaded a poster on Facebook, asking people to bring in old books that they may have, which they may not use anymore.
“I was really happy to see so many people, including friends and relatives, donating books in response to the campaign. They were also happy to be part of such a good cause.”
When I went to the association, I noticed that they had a shortage of books. They needed new ones and better ones. I decided to do a campaign for them.” Vibhali Shetty, Grade 7 student
Shetty took advantage of the digital age and spread the word about her campaign through social media. She forwarded the poster she had made to her friends on WhatsApp and they forwarded it to their friends, which, Shetty said, attracted “many people” to donate their old books.
Shetty’s mum, Suraksha Shetty, said that initially the campaign didn’t get a huge response, however, once the word about the campaign reached further on social media, they started receiving calls and messages.
“My cousin’s kids are all grown and they weren’t using their old books. She donated 100 books,” she said.
Shetty hopes her campaign will encourage the staff and visitors at the association, many whom are students, to pick up a book and read. “Reading is such a good habit. I love reading. It’s one of my favourite hobbies. I hope more people will read now,” Shetty said.
This is not the first time young Shetty has carried out a kindhearted campaign. She had helped a friend with her Indiabased campaign, collecting 50 pairs of shoes for orphan kids in Rajasthan.
sarwat@khaleejtimes.com