Antigua and Barbuda schools to benefit from regional book donation programme

A Boston-headquartered 501(c)(3) nonprofit is deepening its 17-year track record of advancing childhood literacy across the Eastern Caribbean, with a 2026–2027 programming roadmap that will deliver curated reading materials and targeted support to 96 primary schools, preschools, and three affiliated education partners spanning six island nations: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Established in 2007 by Harriet and Tom Linskey, a pair of sailors whose personal travels across Caribbean waters evolved into a long-term educational commitment, Hands Across the Sea operates on a community-centered Literacy Links model that prioritizes local educator expertise over one-off book drop-offs. Full-time, regionally based program officers embed themselves in partner school communities, collaborating directly with teachers, administrative leaders, and parent groups to design library solutions aligned with unique local needs, rather than imposing external, one-size-fits-all resources.
For the upcoming academic year, the organization has forged a new high-impact partnership with the Perkins School for the Blind’s renowned Braille & Talking Book Library to address a longstanding gap in accessible reading materials for Eastern Caribbean children living with visual impairments. Perkins, a global nonprofit leader in accessible education for disabled learners, will donate specially produced Braille volumes that Hands Across the Sea’s local network will distribute directly to targeted special education programs, connecting specialized accessibility resources to the students who need them most.
The nonprofit’s multi-tiered programming framework is engineered to support readers at every developmental stage. Its flagship Caribbean Literacy and School Support (CLASS) program launches and refreshes full lending libraries for primary and secondary students, paired with formal training for both classroom educators and youth participants in the organization’s Student Librarian program, which empowers primary school learners to manage book check-out systems, curate collections for their peers, and build leadership skills as trusted stewards of their school’s reading spaces. The Early Pages Programme brings age-appropriate story collections and interactive shared reading activities to preschools, with intentional design to invite caregivers and family members into early literacy practices at home. For learners who have not yet mastered foundational reading skills, the Remedial Reading Collections deliver targeted, skill-aligned resources to support catch-up progress, while the Special Education Collections cater to a full spectrum of neurodiverse and disabled learners, now supplemented by the newly donated Perkins Braille materials.
Recent school request submissions from across the region highlight both persistent infrastructure challenges and unwavering local dedication to literacy: some schools are seeking to replace collections destroyed by water damage or termite infestations, while others are preparing to launch dedicated on-site library rooms for the first time, or sourcing engaging, culturally relevant titles to spark a love of recreational reading in students who have not previously connected with books. In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a special education program submitted a request for tailored resources to support small-group, leveled reading instruction that educators run multiple times per week to track individual student progress, while an Antiguan school requested updated, high-interest titles to expand offerings for a student body that already regularly uses its existing library for research, leisure reading, and collaborative study.
The organization notes that its sustained, year-over-year presence in partner communities turns individual book shipments into permanent, trusted educational infrastructure, rather than temporary, forgotten donations. Hands Across the Sea welcomes donations, volunteer support, and school sponsorships from individual contributors, regional sailing communities, local businesses, publishing houses, and philanthropic partners via its official website at handsacrossthesea.org. Its partner, Perkins School for the Blind, circulates more than 500,000 accessible Braille, large-print, and audio publications annually to patrons with print disabilities across the globe, with more information available at perkins.org and perkinslibrary.org.