Grade 11 student Bernadette Richard is organizing Bottles for Books, a fund-raising effort to buy text books for students in Zimbabwe.

She'll be collecting bottles, cans and any cash recyclables this weekend, and has established accounts under her name at both Raven Recycling and P & M Recycling for those who want to donate their returns to the cause.

"It's a project for school,” she explained in an interview Wednesday. "We had to find our own ideas and events that are causing problems in the world and come up with our own way to help.”

The 16-year-old Vanier Catholic Secondary School student said during her on-line research for her social justice class, she came across an organization called The Zimbabwe Project.

It's a Canadian organization which identifies and tries to help with areas of concern in what Richard describes as a very poor African country.

"They have several projects they are involved with,” she said. "They do other stuff like build houses and schools.

"So this is the one I found the most interesting to me because I want to be a teacher.”

Education, Richard insisted, is essential in life.

In Zimbabwe, sometimes up to 10 students share the same textbook, which can often be severely damaged with pages missing, she said.

Richard is hoping to raise $1,000 to purchase books for the Chikumbu elementary and secondary school, hopefully with a little money left over to buy pencils and other supplies.

Five other Whitehorse schools have been approached to see if they're interested in pitching in, and so far two local bars and one restaurant have agreed to donate cans and bottles. And Richard is planning to knock on more doors.

Cash donations are also welcome.

"Every penny counts, so any donation you make will help children have a chance at a better life.”

Richard and her mother, Norma Renwick, along with several friends, will be driving around the city Saturday and Sunday collecting recyclables.

To make arrangements for a pickup, they can be reached at 633-5832.