LOST IN BOOKS’ shop window invites you inside in five languages. Inside are books for children and young adults in more than sixty five languages, and a team of staff and volunteers whom together, speak more than 60 languages. 

We opened our doors because of the power of community support, both in money and in voluntary labour.  Now, we need your support to help Australia prize the gift of multilingualism through reading, music, creativity, and language acquisition.

More than one in every five Australians speaks a language other than English at home. In Fairfield, almost three quarters of the community speaks a language other than English in daily life (Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census 2016). 

LOST IN BOOKS is a community hub for creativity, multilingualism, belonging and connection. It is celebrated for its continuing commitment to enriching the lives of local residents through literature and art. We work to celebrate the power of speaking more than one language.

Since our establishment in 2017, we have worked towards the enrichment of Australian communities through multilingualism, storytelling, and creative self-expression. We encourage learning, language acquisition and creativity. These opportunities, among many others, also help to amplify the distinctive voice of Western Sydney’s artists and communities.

PAY IT FORWARD

By paying it forward, you can actively contribute to both the LOST IN BOOKS family as well as a family in need. Alongside this, money raised also goes toward locally relevant community programs designed to nurture the growth of our local artists. 

• $25 lets a newly arrived child or family choose a book from our beautiful bilingual collection to help them learn English, or to strengthen literacy in the language(s) they speak at home.
• $50 lets a family choose a collection of books
• $75 funds a place for a child in a homework club, baby music time or conversation group for a term to help them connect with the community and adjust to their new way of life.
• $100 gives a young person the opportunity to make art and gain skills in one of our artist-led workshops over a term, to enable them to develop their creative portfolio, and employable skills.
• $250 pays for an open mic/performance night providing local musicians and artists with a safe place to gather and celebrate multilingual creativity.
• $500 provides a year of language learning for a student who speaks their mother tongue, but cannot write it. We offer a language writing academy to promote literacy and lyrical self expression in Arabic; and in Mandarin.
• $750 funds a print run of 200 copies of a multilingual anthology or new literary work 
• $1,000 allows us to run our online bookshop for another week; developing, producing and delivering our creative programs in-store and online.
  
  

To learn more about how we use the gift of literature, language and the arts to support families, whatever language they speak, visit us at www.lostinbooks.com.au

Thank you for your kindness and generosity.