Flowers for me and books for you
The idea of raising funds from fresh flowers has been implemented by the "Library from Flowers" group for many years, attracting the attention of the Capital community.
Instead of calling for support in the familiar way, the group chose to sell stolen goods and organize stolen goods decoration events on special occasions to raise funds for the library, bringing books to high-level stolen goods school sites.
The "Library" was established on June 1, 2023, and now has 20 members participating. The group maintains fundraising activities by selling flowers daily. For book donations, the group only receives reference books and stories.
Sharing with reporters, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien - Head of the group - said that profits from selling goods, organizing events or other sources of income from philanthropists are all used to buy books, buy bookshelves and transport them to schools.
The members of the group almost do not take labor. We still tell each other to try to take labor for profit so that students in many difficult areas have more libraries," Ms. Hien said.
According to Ms. Hien, the initiation of the "Library" originated from the desire to spread kindness and positivity in the community.
We believe that each person does not need to do great things, just spreading good things in their own way is already very valuable," Ms. Hien shared.
For Ms. Hien, the library for children in difficult areas is not simply a place to store books, but a "travel ticket" that opens up new horizons.
In remote and isolated villages or coastal fishing villages, children's eyes are often limited to mountains, forests, cornfields, and streams. A suitable book does not need to be too academic, just many images and beautiful stories can help children see a wider world," Ms. Hien said.
Business associated with charity
According to Ms. Hien, the biggest challenge of the group is the resource problem: "We have to learn how to operate like a small business, with input and output, balancing costs, time and personnel. Members are all amateurs, each person has their own job, so we have to arrange time and use our strengths to contribute.
There were times when selling flowers was difficult, the money was not much, everyone was worried about getting more people to wear the scarecrow to wear the scarecrow. However, customer trust was the reason for the group to keep operating.
As one of the members directly involved in selling flowers, Ms. Dinh Thi Thu Uyen (25 years old) said that she came to the "Library" because she loves flowers and loves charity.
When I knew the project combined both of my favorite things, I was ready to participate. For me, selling flowers to raise funds is not a big deal, it's just contributing a little effort so that children in the highlands have more books to read and learn," Ms. Uyen shared.
As for Ms. Do Thi Sen (21 years old), the project impressed with humanistic messages such as "Flower for me - Book for you".
Ms. Sen once directly participated in handing over books at school locations and could not hide her emotion when seeing the children cherish each new book.
Books for children are not just for reading, but friends who open up a different world. That makes me even more believe that small things can still make big changes," Ms. Sen said.
