“Through the Belle character, we wanted to inspire children to find magic through reading books,” said The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia studio entertainment general manager and executive director Tom Batchelor in a press release.

For this book-donation program, the company has teamed up with Taman Bacaan Pelangi (Rainbow Reading Gardens), a non-profit organization that works to give children in Eastern Indonesia access to books.

Read also: Study: Nearly 60 percent of children like reading for fun

The company is also encouraging the public to join the program by donating books for children aged 5 to 13 years of age.  The books can be delivered to the donation box located in the Beauty and the Beast’s retail area at Lippo Mal Puri, West Jakarta, until April 2.

The books, along with 600 Donald Duck comic albums, will be sent to Taman Bacaan Pelangi’s libraries in Eastern Indonesia.

“In Taman Bacaan Pelangi, we have a mission to nourish reading interest by providing access to high-quality books for children living in remote areas in Eastern Indonesia. We are happy to be involved in this program that will benefit those children,” said Taman Bacaan Pelangi founder Nila Tanzil.

In addition to Nila Tanzil, local celebrity Chelsea Islan is also supporting the program.  "Similar to Belle, I also wanted to create a movement and make changes [in society]. One of the efforts is through donating books for our brothers and sisters who need them," she said. (asw)

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