Sutherland Shire school principals gathered at the Hazelhurst Art Gallery last week to celebrate more than a decade of The Holt Estate 1861's support of local school libraries.
The Holt Estate 1861 has been donating $5,000 a year to 11 local school libraries, which has now totalled almost $600,000 in good news.
Schools that benefited were Endeavour Sports High, Caringbah High, Woolooware Public, Kurnell Public, Woolooware High, Caringbah North Public, Cronulla High and Cronulla Public School.
CEO of Holt Estate 1861 Duncan McComb says he is delighted that the donations have made a real impact on schools in the Shire.
"Holt Estate 1861 has long been a supporter of the Sutherland-Shire community and with these donations, we know we are having a significant positive impact on the education of young people in our community.
"We're proud of our long-standing connection to Sutherland Shire and the difference that we've been able to make for tens of thousands of students and their education," he said
"A well-resourced library can transform a school. It can promote a reading culture, encourage curiosity, develop physical and digital resources and even provide a refuge from the playground.
"Libraries remain a central focus of education within schools and resourcing those libraries is a constant pressure for primary and secondary school principals.
"They're about far more than just books these days, requiring constant investment in IT systems to stay relevant. We heard a lot of feedback about this during the lockdowns and home-schooling, how the libraries were better able to support families with loan resources as a result of the support."
Duncan McComb said Holt Estate 1861 were delighted that they could ease some of the pressure to ensure students in the Sutherland Shire have access to the best possible school libraries.