Books in Homes

Mainfreight was an original sponsor of the Books in Homes programme, founded in New Zealand by author Alan Duff in 1995. We are now the largest corporate sponsor of Books in Homes in New Zealand and have helped to extend the programme to the Australian states of Northern Territories and Queensland, and - in 2006 - the United States.

Books in Homes was developed following the realisation that failures in adult life often stem from childhoods spent in bookless homes. The aim is to break the cycle of "booklessness". Books in Homes subsidises the cost of books 50/50 with the schools in the programme, which are selected from areas where the children are most likely to come from bookless homes. Each child receives six books a year to own and take home - in some cases, these are the first books ever to be in the child's house.

The programme has been credited with a 35% improvement in children's reading age in just one year.

Read more about Books in Homes at: http://www.booksinhomes.org.nz