One Million Books
for One Million Children
Imagine and believe: A child with art and stories can change the world.
For many of the kids this campaign benefits, CANVAS books are the very first they get to call their own.
CANVAS works with local artists and writers to publish original picture books that are then donated directly to children in public schools and poor communities throughout the Philippines.
To date, we have donated over 450,000 books to children around the Philippines.
Last year, we distributed a total of 34,789 books through partner organizations and volunteers, bringing our campaign’s total book donation count to 455,603 by end of 2022. Each month, we inch our way to the half-million mark. As of May 2023, 465,439 books have been donated.
Find out more about the communities who have received our books recently by looking at our bookgiving events and bookgiving map.
Nominate a community.
The Campaign promotes independent reading and creative thinking in Filipino children.
Our country is still reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes a worsened learning crisis that has left 9 out of 10 children struggling with reading at the age of 10, according to the 2022 World Bank report on “The State of Global Learning Poverty.”
The call to stand in the gaps for every child is stronger than ever.
Our hope is that our books — filled with great art and stories — will hook kids into reading, and that a love for reading will grow into independent reading and creative thinking. These are lasting skills that will help them – even those who drop out of school – to achieve success all through their lives.
In these divisive times, we have found that everyone can rally and unite behind art, reading, and children.
We are still a long way from our one-million-book target. Fortunately, we have found that the journey itself is cause enough for celebration.
