What is Bimini Bound?

Bimini Bound is a small, local project, started in Whitby Ontario Canada. It puts good quality new or used books into the hands of children in schools on Bimini, the westernmost island in the Bahamas. Like Canada, the Bahamas is a Commonwealth nation.

Bimini has about 1,600 re sidents. Approximately 600 children attend its three schools: Bimini All Age Public School has children in grades 1 -12. Holy Name Catholic School, grades K – 6. Gateway Christian Academy, grades K – 12. Bimini also has three small pre-schools. While the children enjoy a good basic education, schools need more basic resources.

The concept is simple. Comparatively speaking, our children possess tremendous reading resources that, over time, may languish on our school and home bookshelves. Bimini Bound gives these books new life by putting them in the hands of young people on Bimini. These young people already benefit from a good basic education, but often lack the most basic of learning resources.

Bimini Bound is a volunteer effort. It works in partnership with the Royal Bahamas Police, Bimini Division’s Community Policing staff, as part of its youth engagement and efforts. Teachers in Whitby, Ontario volunteer their time to vet and categorize books according to age, grade and book type. An international company has donated shipping services of the books to Miami where a south Florida philanthropist will ship them to Bimini for distribution by the police, working with island educators. Bimini Bound’s first shipment: spring, 2006.

With your help, Bimini Bound is sharing the power of reading.

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