Steacie and Bronfman join Scott Library for week-long camp-out
Staff Writer
@excalweb
With the overall goal of contributing to raise $27,000 and building six libraries in India, York’s chapter of Live-in for Literacy appears to be going strong.
Students from all over Canada take part in this event, which is held from January 27 to February 3. Live-in for Literacy at York added to two more libraries—Steacie and Bronfman—in addition to Scott Library.
“We’re raising money to build schools in underdeveloped parts of the world,” says volunteer Alicia Gutierrez. She says campers rarely leave theirs tents, showing commitment to the cause.
“Our campers are students, so they only really leave to go to class and shower and occasionally run out to get food,” she says. “The administration and librarians have been really helpful and they were really excited about this. In the last few years, we had librarians match our donations.”
However, Guiterrez also talks about facing rejection by students.
“Anything you do you’ll often get rejection. Most people are not really interested in your cause, so that’s something we have to face,” she says. “But we’ve also got people who were really enthusiastic about our cause, so it balances out.”
With roots coming from Queen’s University seven years ago, York began participation three years ago. To date, Live-in for Literacy has built 14 schools, published 10,000 books and built a computer lab in Cambodia.