News
Firefly Education donates $1.1 million in literacy resources to Pacific Island schools
22/9/26
Firefly Education has partnered with the Rotary Club of Mooloolaba to donate $1.1 million worth of Sound Waves student books and decodable readers, bound for classrooms across the Pacific.
The books are already making their way to schools in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, with further distribution planned for Nauru and Fiji.
Firefly Education Director Anthony Stannard shared the news at a recent address to the Rotary Club of Mooloolaba, where he spoke about Firefly’s long standing commitment to literacy, both locally in Australia and overseas.
The connection to Pacific Island nations
For Firefly, the timing of this donation carries an added layer of meaning. Anthony Stannard, who recently joined the company as Director, spent more than 30 years as an Australian diplomat, with postings across the world including Samoa, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Fiji. That experience gives Firefly’s donation a personal dimension.
‘I have a personal understanding of the challenges that kids face accessing something as simple as a high quality reading book,’ Anthony said. ‘Fewer than half of Year 4 children across the Pacific Islands reach the minimum standard in reading, and in many communities a lack of books and learning materials is one of the biggest barriers to change.’
The journey from the Sunshine Coast to the classroom
The donation is being distributed through Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS) and its Rotary Australia Repurposing Equipment (RARE) program, which coordinates the collection and shipping of donated educational and medical resources to communities across Australia and the Pacific.
The Rotary Club of Mooloolaba is managing the collection and freight from the Sunshine Coast, transporting the books to RARE’s warehouse in Brisbane, where they’re loaded into shipping containers bound for various Pacific Island nations. From there, local Rotary clubs and community groups on the ground coordinate final delivery to schools, sometimes with the help of local church or community organisations.
Since it was founded in 1966, RAWCS has contributed more than half a billion dollars in aid and completed thousands of projects, supporting hundreds of thousands of people across 45 countries. This donation adds to that ongoing work, helping put quality literacy resources directly into classrooms that need them most.
The philosophy that goes beyond publishing
Firefly Education was founded in 1989 by teachers Peter Stannard and Ann Smales, with a simple idea: build the resources they wished they’d had in their own classrooms. That philosophy still shapes every Firefly resource today, each one begins with a teacher, uses evidence-based practices, and is designed with one goal in mind, helping children succeed.
‘Whether it’s donating resources internationally, supporting local schools, or investing in the community, we believe success should be measured not only by our business goals, but by the difference we make in the lives of others,’ Anthony said.
Want to learn more?
You can read more about Rotary’s international work through RAWCS and the Rotary Club of Mooloolaba.