In the photos: Students proudly show off their brand new books;The Honorable Jerome Fitzgerald, Minister of Education, Science and Technology inspects some of the books, speaking and standing with RBC Staff At RBC Book Drive. .  Left to right in the bottom right photo: Kirk Dudtschak, President, Caribbean Banking, RBC Royal Bank; Nancy McDonald, Director, Read Bahamas; The Honorable Jerome Fitzgerald, Minister of Education, Science and Technology; and Nathaniel Beneby, Managing Director, Bahamas, Cayman and Turks & Caicos Islands, RBC Royal Bank. (Photos courtesy of RBC for Barefoot Marketing)

Nassau, Bahamas – Driven by our commitment to children’s education, RBC Royal Bank, in partnership with Read Bahamas, today donated 30,000 books to The Bahamas Ministry of Education for Bahamian schools. Fueled by the efforts of RBC’s employees in Toronto, Canada, the books will be given to the District Superintendents of New Providence and the Family Islands to distribute to local schools. Read Bahamas, a nonprofit organization focused on donating high-quality books to Bahamian children, was a driving force behind the effort and is partnering with RBC and the Superintendents to coordinate delivery of the books.

“On behalf of our teachers and students, I want to thank RBC for this generous donation and Read Bahamas for its partnership,” said Honourable Jerome K. Fitzgerald, Minister of Education, Science and Technology for The Bahamas. “These books will foster a love of reading among our students, helping to advance education and learning in our schools for years to come.” The books were presented to the Ministry of Education at an event at Sir Kendall Isaacs G.L. Gymnasium in Nassau, just two days following International Literacy Day, which was celebrated on September 8, 2014.

The books were collected through an RBC Book Drive, which was inspired by the work of Read Bahamas. Mrs. Nancy McDonald, founder and director of Read Bahamas, had the idea to sponsor a book drive in conjunction with RBC’s Performance Cruise, an annual award trip for RBC’s top staff from around the globe that stops in Nassau each January.

When RBC staff in Canada heard about the book drive, they launched a grassroots effort to contribute to the initiative, collecting 18,000 books. The RBC Foundation, in turn, pledged to donate a dollar for every book raised to First Book Canada, a nonprofit organization based in Toronto which provides access to new books for Canadian children in need. First Book Canada donated an additional 12,000 books to the book drive, bringing the total to 30,000 donated books.

“Literacy is a foundation for success in education,” said Kirk Dudtschak, President, RBC Caribbean Banking. “Providing high-quality books to children, wherever they may be, promotes a life-long love of learning which opens new possibilities and encourages children to use their imagination to the fullest. We are pleased to continue our support of education with these donations and reaffirm our commitment to the region.”

“I want to thank and applaud RBC’s employees in Toronto for this incredible donation,” said Mrs. McDonald. “Reading is such an important part of a child’s education and development and these books will make a huge difference to schools across The Bahamas, which are in need of new reading materials for their students. We are happy to learn that children in Canada will also be receiving books as a result of this initiative. The joy of reading is a gift that should be given to children in all regions of the world.”

“This initiative is a true demonstration of how RBC’s global scale benefits our local communities,” said Nathaniel Beneby, Jr., managing director of RBC Royal Bank in The Bahamas, Cayman and Turks & Caicos. “This project is the latest example of RBC’s long-standing commitment to education and to supporting the Ministry of Education.”

Earlier this year, RBC announced its sponsorship of the Ministry’s Learning Channel Initiative, a project that will produce The Bahamas’ first 24-hour educational channel. RBC is also partnering on the Mission: Educate Bahamas initiative, a project that is equipping schools with computer labs to increase learning opportunities for Bahamian students with the use of technology.

“At RBC, we believe that educating our youth today will make our country strong and successful for future generations,” added Mr. Beneby. “Corporations have an important role to play in promoting the long-term health and vitality of our communities, which is why education remains one of RBC’s top areas of community focus.”