External News
Whitby This Week
Student Teachers at UOIT Sending Books to Bimini
Durham Books Bound for Bimini - Local organization collecting used books for island
The Catholic Register - Toronto
Books Bound for Bimini
Whitby, Ont. Members of the Whitby community donated 6000 books to students living in Bimini, a tiny island that is part of the Bahamas, this past spring.
The
Nassau Guardian - The Bahamas
Books
for Bimini Schools (PDF 114kb)
Bimini's three schools are to benefit from a gift of over six thousand
books. A Canadian organisation in Whitby, Ontario, near Toronto,
has collected and donated the books under a scheme known as "Bimini
Bound."
Durham
region news - Whitby,Ontario,Canada
Whitby
gives to Bimini
Residents responded graciously by donating 6,000 new and used books
to school children on the island of Bimini in the Bahamas.
Durham
region news - Whitby,Ontario,Canada
Help
send books to children on Bimini
A campaign to send good quality new or used books to school children
on the island of Bimini is now underway at the Whitby Central library.
Bimini Bound News Releases
Student Teachers at UOIT Sending Books to Bimini
November 19, 2009
School children on the Bahamian island of Bimini will be recieving much welcomed help from Teacher Candidates studying at UOIT. Eva Solomon and Lenita Leufkens are studying in the Bachelor of Education (B. Ed) program at this unique school. For these two future teachers, leading this latest effort to supply good quality used books for the children and schools on the small island was a natural outlet for their studies.
Solomon, from Toronto, worked as a student at the Bimini Biological Field Station—also known as the Shark Lab, in 2008 and 2009. She loved the experience and wanted to do something to return the island’s famous hospitality. That’s when she learned about Bimini Bound. She had heard much about the six thousand books sent to Bimini in 2006 to stock local schools and pre-schools with more educational resources. Getting involved would be a great way to give back to the community.
It was only when Solomon returned to Canada that she learned that Bimini Bound was started by Whitby resident John Ecker. “So, when I went to UOIT in September, I contacted John and asked him if we could get involved with Bimini Bound,” said Solomon. Ecker was immediately enthusiastic. “Eva and Lenita were clearly committed to the project. It’s a huge undertaking to collect, sort, catalogue and package the books. I knew right away they were up to the challenge,” said Ecker.
Leufkens notes that as Teacher Candidates and founders of an Environmental Literacy Initiative on campus, they could not be more passionate about giving books new life to promote literacy at an international level. “We are asking our classmates to assist us in the search for used books both during their field placements and in their communities and already that’s paying off,” says Leufkens. To date, Leufkens and Solomon have collected roughly one thousand books.
When asked, “Why Bimini?” Ecker notes that for him it’s a personal connection. “Bimini needs the help. It’s an island I know well and frequently visit. If Bimini Bound inspires others to do similar work to assist other places around the world, that’s terrific. I’m always happy to share what I’ve learned to help others get started.”
Community leaders on the island are looking forward to the shipment, expected to arrive early in the new year. Sergeant Michael Checkley, of the Royal Bahamas Police Force runs programs to help island youth. “Staying in school and getting a good start in life is crucial. Bimini Bound is providing our students with the most basic building blocks--- books,” said Sergeant Checkley. The police service will work with teachers to distribute the books to nearly 600 students at three schools and several pre-schools.
Bimini Bound welcomes donations of good quality, used books. It does not accept magazines or encyclopedias. Until mid-December, local residents are invited to donate books at two collection points at the campus:
UOIT/Durham College Main Campus
Gordon Wiley Security Desk
2000 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa
UOIT Faculty of Education Campus
Security Desk
11 Simcoe St. North, Oshawa
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Bimini Bound sends Six Thousand books to Small Caribbean Island
June 19, 2006 - (Whitby) Thanks to the generosity of students and families in Whitby, six thousand new and used books have been delivered to Bimini, Bahamas. “That’s ten books for every student from pre-school to high school on the island.” said John Ecker, a Whitby resident and founder of Bimini Bound.
The project began in March, when two Whitby schools committed to assist in the project. All Saints Catholic Secondary School and St. Marguerite D' Youville were first on board to help. “Then it just grew from there,” said Ecker. “The Whitby Public Library, Leslie McFarlane School and St. Matthew the Evangelist all joined the effort. By the middle of May, my garage was full of books and we had to limit the program.”
John Stafford, Vice-Principal at All Saints was an early volunteer on the project. “I t was such a great opportunity for us to get students involved in a worthy project,” said Stafford. “We were joined by a number of teacher volunteers from other schools who helped sort and classify the books by grade level.” Janine Bowyer, Principal at St. Marguerite’s said, “As educators, we were all very impressed with both the volume of the books and the quality of the material. Students and teachers on Bimini will be well-served through this project.”
Sergeant Michael Checkley, Community Relations Manager on the island took delivery of the books last week. “We are absolutely overwhelmed by the generosity of the people of Whitby,” said Checkley, who also runs programs to help island youth stay in school. The police service is now working with teachers to distribute the books to the classrooms of nearly six hundred students at local schools and its small community library.
Bimini Bound was initiated by Ecker after a difficult year for islanders. “In January, the island’s biggest attraction, the Compleat Angler, where Ernest Hemingway produced some of his best writing, was lost to a fire. Before that, in December, 11 of the 19 people killed in a Miami seaplane crash were from Bimini. Bimini also got hit by hurricanes last fall,” said Ecker.
A small island, Bimini has many links to fame. North Bimini is also the fabled site of Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth; The Bimini Road Is a subterranean network of boulders that some believe to be a road on the site of the lost city of Atlantis. Onetime U.S. Presidential hopeful Gary Hart, visited the Bimini’s Compleat Angler hotel aboard the boat Monkey Business before his presidential ambitions were crushed by scandal.
While this project has wrapped up, Ecker plans to keep Bimini Bound active and ready to respond to other needs that might arise on Bimini. More about the project can be found at www.biminibound.ca.
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Whitby Public Library helps Bimini Bound send books to the Bahamas
April 19, 2006 - (Whitby) School children on the small Bahamian island of Bimini will be getting much welcomed help from Whitby area school children and their families, thanks to Bimini Bound. All Durham residents can help by donating good quality used books at the Whitby Central Library April 23 to 29.
Bimini Bound was launched in March, during Royal Bahamas Police Month. Sergeant Michael Checkley, Community Relations Manager on the island runs programs to help island youth. “Staying in school and getting a good start in life is crucial. Bimini Bound is providing our students with the most basic building blocks--- books,” said Sergeant Checkley. The police service will work with teachers to distribute the books to nearly 600 students at three schools and several pre-schools.
John Ecker of Whitby, a frequent visitor to the island, founded Bimini Bound to help islanders after a difficult year. “In January, the island’s biggest attraction, the Compleat Angler, where Ernest Hemingway produced some of his best writing, was lost to a fire. Before that, in December, 11 of the 19 people killed in a Miami seaplane crash were from Bimini. Bimini also got hit by hurricanes last fall,” said Ecker.
A small island, Bimini has many links to fame. North Bimini is the fabled site of Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth; The Bimini Road Is a subterranean network of boulders that some believe to be a road on the site of the lost city of Atlantis. Onetime U.S. Presidential hopeful Gary Hart, visited the Bimini’s Compleat Angler hotel aboard the boat Monkey Business before his presidential ambitions were crushed by scandal.
To date, Bimini Bound has been helped by two Whitby schools, All Saints Catholic Secondary School and St. Marguerite D’Youville elementary School. Ecker has been encouraged by the response. “People have been quite generous. So far, we have collected over 25 boxes of very good, gently used books.”
The Whitby Public Library’s Central Branch on Dundas Street will be collecting books for Bimini Bound during the week of April 23 – 29. CEO Ian Ross is inviting library patrons and other members of the public to support Bimini Bound. “We are accepting good quality, used books, fiction and non-fiction from preschool to young adult. This is a great program that’s going to help a lot of young people in the Bahamas,” said Ross.
A team of local
educators will help sort and pack the books. Sergeant Checkley says
“It will be great to see the look on the teachers’ faces
when my fellow officers and I deliver the books to the children.”
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