The Great Debate 2024 was a night to remember! Driven by the goal to raise funds and awareness for children’s literacy, we were blown away by the support of our dedicated donors and partners! The Great Debate Gala is our biggest night of the year and thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and guests, we raised over $310,000 to support disadvantaged children across Australia access life-changing literacy programs.
Congratulations to all our debaters – Adam Spencer, Carolyn Swindell and Mark Humphries and our winning negative team – Anna Downes, Rachel Spratt and Rob Carlton who hilariously convinced the crowd that authors are safe from AI taking over!
Our Great Debate Gala would not be possible without our generous event sponsors B dynamic Logistics, Dymocks Books, Top Print Productions and Yangaro.
A big thank you to our special guests who joined us Bass Hill Public School Principal, Amiee Jahshan, Ambassador, Jacqueline Harvey and MC, Kylie Gillies.
Together, we are making an impactful difference to the lives and literacy of Australia’s most vulnerable communities. We are already looking forward to next year’s Great Debate Gala!
Happy World Book Day
On 23rd April we celebrated the power of reading in transforming the lives and imaginations of children and adults alike! We invited workplaces across Australia to host a book exchange morning tea before tuning into a phenomenal talk from best-selling author and Dymocks Children’s Charities Ambassador, Jacqueline Harvey! Jacqueline shared the inspiration behind some of her greatest stories and the wonderful ways we can incorporate storytelling into our everyday lives. Thank you to Dymocks and B dynamic Logistics for participating in our World Book Day Exchange and supporting children's literacy!
Dymocks Children's Charities and Brisbane Broncos come together to support Riverview State School
Football fever is sky-high at Riverview State School in Queensland but equally as electric is the excitement surrounding the school’s delivery of new library books thanks to the Brisbane Broncos. Thanks to their generous $3,000 donation, Dymocks Children's Charities was able to double this in book value and provide $6,000 worth of brand-new books. Riverview State School received over 330 brand-new titles breathing new life into their school library and inspiring a culture of reading for years to come amongst their students.
The school shared that the program has allowed them to filter through and remove incredibly outdated and damaged books and replace them with books the students will be drawn to and relate to. As a school in the bottom 4% in Australia per ICSEA (Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage) it was amazing to see the meaningful impact the Library Regeneration Program has already and will continue to make in their school community!
The program was topped off with an awesome visit from two wonderful players, Tyson Smoothy and Selwyn Cobbo. Students and their families lined up around the block to meet the players who held a Q&A, sharing stories about football, the importance of reading (of course!), and their favourite books growing up, which were Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Where’s Wally, big hits among kids of all ages! The players stayed back to meet and sign all sorts for the community from jerseys and footballs to favourite books. The visit was inspiring for the students who can’t wait to read, borrow, and love their library, bringing the Riverview community together to enjoy and experience the wonders of the newly stocked library together. It was a fantastic afternoon to celebrate the school’s Library Regeneration program. Happy Reading Riverview Students!
Bluff Point's Library Regeneration Program!
Dymocks Children's Charities was delighted to deliver over 500 new books to Bluff Point Primary School in Western Australia through our Library Regeneration program!
The school's Library Officer, Jess shared "This is an incredibly generous program! To provide students with new and exciting material to open their minds to the joy and adventure that books can bring, was an absolute gift, and one that that will keep on giving for years and years!"
Here's what the students had to say...
“It is so thoughtful that they gave us all of these books, they will help a lot of kids to read. It has inspired me to keep reading and learning new things.”
“There is such a variety of books to read now. I can’t wait to try new authors and get inspiration for my drawing from the graphic novels. I can also get more knowledge with the new fact books.”
Happy reading Bluff Point students!
Do you remember the book that changed your life?
Have you ever read a life-changing book? Maybe it was a childhood classic that inspired a lifelong love of reading. Perhaps it was a book that inspired your career, or just made you feel seen and understood.
Unfortunately many Australians will never fully understand the feeling of finding comfort in reading. This is because 1 in 10 adults in Australia have low-literacy or are illiterate.*
Literacy skills are grown and nurtured in homes and classrooms. This is a barrier for tens of thousands of children who are growing up in poverty with very limited access to books.
Your donation to Dymocks Children’s Charities will ensure children will be welcomed back to school this year in classrooms filled with brand-new books. Our literacy programs give schools and students agency to select books that inspire and speak to them.
CLICK HERE to here to make a difference today:
