Sisters complete mission of sending books up north

Two teenaged sisters from southern Ontario have completed their mission of sending books up to remote NAN communities.
Emma and Julia Mogus of Oakville, Ont., have collected more than 5,500 books in donations and some purchased from their own pockets. The books began to be sent up in late September to 24 remote communities in northern Ontario.
“It was really great,” Julia said. “We just expected to get 500-1,000 books but Hopedale Mall was generous to give us a room to put all the books in.”
Emma and Julia began collecting books last year after learning about the poor literacy rates among First Nations youth in northern Ontario. On their own, they collected more than 400 new or gently used books using funds they raised through allowances and odd jobs.
In June, they began a campaign called Books With No Bounds with the aim of collecting more books and raising funds to ship them up north. Local businesses stepped up and offered drop off points for the books.
The local community donated about 5,000 books while Local 607 LIUNA, a Thunder Bay-based labour union, shipped the books packaged in 55 boxes to Thunder Bay and donated $600 to help pay for the air freight. From there, Wasaya Airways LP provided a 90 per cent discount and flew the books to the communities. The sisters raised the remainder of the shipping costs through donations and selling freezies and candy kabobs.
Each community received about three boxes, or roughly 300 books.
The Mogus sisters are overwhelmed by the support they received.
“We’re so happy and we feel so passionate to give books and to help improve the lives of our brothers and sisters in the north,” Julia said. “And we want to help make that difference in our own backyard.”
Emma said the goal has always been to help the children in the north.
“We think the children deserve the same opportunities we do,” she said. “If they want to be a prime minister, they should be able to be prime minister.”
And while they are glad to have achieved their goal, it’s only the beginning for Books With No Bounds.
“The next step is to keep collecting books over the winter,” Emma said, adding that they no longer have storage space but will store the books in their basement.