SINGAPORE - An initiative making educational resources such as textbooks and assessment books more accessible to needy families is returning for the 38th year, this time to help those impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic as well.

The Share-A-Textbook scheme by FairPrice has over the years collected, redistributed and recycled over 5.8 million textbooks.

As part of its safe management measures, there will an extended distribution period this year and families will have to book time slots for the collection of textbooks.

Noting how the pandemic has disrupted the economy and further impacted the less fortunate, FairPrice group chief executive Seah Kian Peng on Thursday (Oct 29) said: "Through this initiative, we hope to create a positive social impact by allowing students from less privileged background gain access to resources for their educational needs."

FairPrice said that it will work with social service organisations and Community Development Councils to identify the students from low-income families and those impacted by the crisis.

They can collect the textbooks at Our Tampines Hub between Dec 13 and 16. Families can start booking a time for collection from Nov 27, by scanning the QR code on FairPrice's website.

There are 10 one-hour long slots on each collection day, with each slot limited to 20 bookings. A maximum of two people can be present for each booking to collect the books.

FairPrice said the safety measures are needed to minimise crowds and for volunteers to sanitise the collection zones at the end of each time slot.

Access will be given to the public after the students identified have collected their books.

Those who would like to donate textbooks can do so from Oct 29 to Nov 30 at the 77 FairPrice stores located around Singapore, selected supermarkets and FairPrice Xpress outlets at Esso service stations.

More information is available at https://www.fairprice.com.sg/wps/portal/fp/share-a-textbook/faq