Putting Pen to Paper and #doDifferent
Inequality of education continues to plague South Africa, possibly as its most worrying and tragic challenge. Not only are most public schools underfunded, but large portions of school goers are subject to the effects of historical education inequality and economic inequality. Access to learning materials such as books and stationery is difficult or out of reach for many. These are the basics, and without them, it is near impossible to improve education outcomes.
The BIC company, famous for their pens, razors and lighters are making an effort to #doDifferent and change this by putting stationery in the hands of those who need it most.
Since 2011 BIC have run their ‘Buy a pen, donate a pen’ initiative. The initiative runs during the ‘Back to School’ period at the start of each year. For each pen sold under the initiative, BIC donates a pen to a child who needs it. Donations are made through the Read Foundation – an organization supporting literacy and education in South Africa. Since 2011 over 11,5 million pens have been donated – an average of over 1 million pens a year.
Pens are an ongoing consumable for most people, so why not #doDifferent and have this necessary purchase contribute to a great cause in improving educational outcomes for millions of South African children.
Look out for BIC pens marked with their ‘Buy a pen, donate a pen’ logo in-store or online to contribute to this initiative.
