Books are powerful - they have the ability to change someone’s life. They
offer choices, whether it be to reconnect with a past interest, to learn or
to just escape from an often miserable day to day existence.
Sarah Garnett
In 2003 after the death of a young friend, Benjamin Andrew, Sarah decided to make herself useful by working as a volunteer. She started helping serve meals to the homeless and disadvantaged in Sydney’s CBD. One evening Sarah noticed a man sitting under a streetlight reading a novel while waiting for the food van. She started bringing him a few books and it was here The Benjamin Andrew Footpath Library began. The Footpath Library exists solely on donations of money and services. Currently it gives away 2500 new and secondhand books a month in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to homeless hostels and community organisations. The books are a gift, they are not returned. For Sarah, the aim of The Footpath Library is to promote literacy, make books more accessible to homeless and disadvantaged people and change society’s attitudes to these members of our community.
http://www.footpathlibrary.org/
Photographer: Diane Macdonald
Location: Sydney