CB BureauAlibaba Group, in association with Crossword and Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust, will work with its partners to solicit donations, collect and deliver textbooks to schools and colleges across India. The campaign’s partners are The World Bank Family Network Book Project, Delhivery, Kotak Mahindra Bank, mGage India, Shoppers Stop, HyperCity and Rotary Club of Bombay Worli.
The Mission Million Books initiative supports the Indian government’s efforts to enable access to quality education for all. It is expected to open doors for numerous educational institutions to have access to, and enhance the quality of, academic material provided to their students. Collected material will be distributed to more than 2,500 educational institutions across India.
Guru Gowrappan, global managing director, Alibaba Group, said in a media release shared with CauseBecause: ‘Quality education is everyone’s right and plays a fundamental role in building character and intelligence at an early age, ultimately shaping a nation. We believe that every child in India must have the opportunity to learn and cultivate a reading habit, which is an important ingredient for learning and building curiosity.’
In addition to mobilising and coordinating with all partners to prepare for the Mission Million Books project, Alibaba Group will also donate over 50,000 books to the campaign. As part of the campaign, The World Bank Family Network Book Project has already donated 30,000 books.
How to donate
Donations can be made between 18 August and 16 September 2016 at 1,300+ branches of Kotak Mahindra Bank, as well as Shoppers Stop, HyperCity, and Crossword stores across major cities in India. Pick-up services from Delhivery are available for donations of 20 books or above. Interested individuals may call toll-free hotline 1800-103-7598, where representatives will provide the required information, or visit books.alibaba.com for details.