The Footpath Library - Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane
 

I finally have the contact details for this wonderful organisation.

From their website: "After the death of her young friend, Benjamin Andrew, in 2003, Sarah Garnett decided to make herself useful by working as a volunteer. She started helping serve meals to the homeless and disadvantaged in Sydney’s CBD.

One evening, Sarah noticed a man sitting under a streetlight reading a novel while waiting for the food van. She started bringing him a few books and it was through this that The Benjamin Andrew Footpath Library began.

Now in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane (and soon across Australia), The Footpath Library donates books to homeless and marginalised people. It is supported by a dedicated patron, a Park Bench (Board of Directors) and Management Team, all of whom donate their time."

http://www.footpathlibrary.com.au/

For all of us who couldn't imagine a life without books - imagine what a wonderful gift this is for people who simply either don't have access to them otherwise, or limited access through shelters.

If you're living on the streets, you won't have spare cash for books. And they're expensive in Australia. If you don't have a fixed address, you can't join a library.

Thanks for the follow up information Bokhara, this sounds like a really worthwhile cause.

I think so Susan - so is Dress for Success

Thanks for bring this up Bokhara. I had never heard of it before. It looks like I might be doing some packing and unpacking on a Sunday morning and donating some excess books there instead of the local op shop for a change.

What a brilliant idea.

What a great idea the library is, because not all homeless and unemployed people are illiterate or drunks. It will give them the chance to indulge in one of life's little pleasures -reading. Maybe my case will be full of read books when I come over in 6 weeks. I can always buy clothes when I hit Sydney!! Unfortunately I am not able to open the link as, for some strange reason, popups have been blocked very recently, and I haven't had a chance to sort it out yet.
The Dress for Success started up in Wellington (NZ) some years ago. I have a swag of clothes to drop into them so hope they are still operational.

dottyp,are you suggesting that if all homeless were illiterate or drunks the library would be a bad idea? I can see the pointlessness of it if they were all illiterate, but given that throughout history some of the world's finest writers have been notorious drunks, there's the distinct possibility that there are one or two out there who can read.

Sorry, Paul_H, that was not how I meant it to read. I certainly don't think it would be pointless either if all were illiterate as it might lead to a new interest in their lives. Having finally got into the website and perused it fully, I have already sorted some lovely children's books to buy and bring over for the children. I like the idea, too, of the knitting. Such a small project for one person to undertake but what a difference it can make to the lives of the recipients.