Advocacy

EastLink supports preschoolers through Read out of Poverty initiative

Freya Lucas

Jun 23, 2021

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EastLink recently donated $100,000 to Reading Out Of Poverty, a non-profit organisation in Victoria with a sole focus on providing early literacy skills and school preparedness for children aged from birth to five years of age from a disadvantaged background.

For many migrant and refugee families, learning a new language is a significant barrier, in particular for their pre-school children, something which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

Based on this, EastLink chose to make the donation announcement on World Refugee Day, marked on Sunday 20 June, designed by the United Nations to build empathy and understanding for the plight of refugees and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives.

“EastLink recognises that some local people, for example living in the greater Dandenong and Frankston regions, will benefit from additional social cohesion,” EastLink Managing Director Charles Griplas said.

“To assist migrant and refugee families during these difficult times, EastLink has donated $100,000 to Reading Out Of Poverty.”

Reading Out Of Poverty will use the funding to connect with 20,000 migrant and refugee families in the region and will provide children’s books, literacy starter packs and specialised tutoring, CEO Andrew Kay said.

“Over the past 18 months we have seen an increased need for books to support at home learning, and this initiative will help meet that growing demand,” he added.

To learn more about Reading Out Of Poverty please see here.

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