Tourists’ book drive helps Toledo schools

The drive called Books for Belize is the brainchild of Penny and Jack McDonald of Florida. Since their first visit to the country as tourists almost two years ago, the McDonalds have donated a variety of educational materials to Frank’s Eddy Government School. This year a total of one hundred and forty-one boxes will be divided between three primary schools in the Santa Ana and San Felipe communities in the Toledo District. This morning, News Five caught up with the McDonalds at the Harbour View dock as they got ready to unload the shipment that came aboard the cruise ship, The Carnival Glory.

Penny McDonald, Donor
?This trip was really important because between Euro Caribe Shipping, which has been wonderful, they have been a huge help. We have been in touch with the education bureau and of course Major Chanona and a couple of people here, and we?ve set it up now hopefully so that we can send shipments over but we don?t physically have to be here to receive them. The schools who will be receiving them can arrange transport. Carnival has said they will ship anything we want.?

?In Florida, especially in Brevard County, we get brand new textbooks every four years. So when we get, like last year we got all new language arts books, so they take all the old ones and they put them in a warehouse. It?s called the obsolete books warehouse and they sit there, they are free, anybody can go in there and take them. So that?s what I was doing, I?ve been going to the warehouse, just taking stacks of them. This year we got some more math books, this coming year we will be able to get social studies books, and the following year science. So I can literally get enough textbooks, these are hard covered thick books for a number of different schools, but I try to target a few more ones too.?

It will be the first time that the McDonalds will be visiting the southern part of the country. They plan to spend an extra few days vacationing before heading back home.