APU student book donation project brings joy to community
As part of his Tunku Abdul Rahman Scholarship effort, Tan Wei Siang was able to gather 1,760 pre-loved books and donate them to five community libraries and schools throughout George Town.
Tan Wei Siang, a Software Engineering student at Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation (APU), enjoys reading. He believes that everyone, regardless of background or circumstances, should be able to experience the joy of reading.
That is why, with the support of 10 volunteers from Taman Free School Village Community Management Council and Young Malaysian Movement (YMM), he formed the ‘Books for All’ project as part of his Tunku Abdul Rahman Scholarship effort to help give books into the hands of individuals in need.
Wei Siang is also the Founder and Lead of ‘Care for All’. He launched the ‘Books for All: Donate A Book Change A Life’ campaign in April, and manage to collect 1,760 pre-loved books.
Wei Siang started small by collecting books from friends and family. However, as word spread, more people began donating books, including Book For A Better World — a social enterprise company — which donated 400 children’s pre-loved books such as fiction/non-fiction books, school textbooks, encyclopaedias, dictionaries, self-help books, and motivational books, while the balance is from public donation around Klang Valley.
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Among the books donated by Book For A Better World and Klang Valley residents and taken back to Penang to be donated to those in need.
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The Books for All campaign will continue in the future with various plans.
Wei Siang previously raised RM70,000 through crowdfunding and eSports competitions during the pandemic and donated food baskets to over 1,000 underprivileged families in Taman Free School — Penang’s poorest area — for two years as part of the Care for All projects.
For his noble and caring efforts to help the poor, Wei Siang received the Penang Young Excellence Award in Pandemic Leadership from the Penang State Government.