Duffy books in US homes

U.S.A. – AT&T, a communications holding company, recently announced a contribution of NZ$13,000 to help Duffy Books in Homes USA support disadvantaged school students in the US by providing them with free books.

The Duffy Books in Homes programme was inspired and founded by Alan Duff, a New Zealand author, who developed the idea that failures in adult life often result from a childhood spent in a bookless home. 

Since its establishment in 1996, the programme has given away more than seven million books to tens of thousands of students in NZ.

The programme has been further extended to the US in 2008, after Dr. Richard E. Quest, a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, visited NZ as part of his doctoral studies, and later established the Books in Homes programme in his own country.

Since then, Duffy Books in Homes USA has worked with eligible school districts and community organisations to provide free books to elementary school-aged children.

The schools and organisations are selected from areas where the children are most likely to come from bookless homes. With the ongoing support of sponsors, the programme has given away more than 47,000 books to more than 3,500 students in 14 schools in nine school districts in the US.

“Research shows that one in seven children in the US cannot read at their proper age level,” said Dr. Quest, now CEO of Duffy Books in Homes USA.

“Children reading at their proper level doubles their chances of graduating from high school.

Thanks to the generous support from AT&T, we will be able to get more books into the homes of those children in need.”