The Manx Educational Foundation (MEF) has secured private sector funding and announced that it is in the early stages of agreeing a plan to keep the Island’s mobile and family libraries running. This comes just weeks after the announcement that Government funding for these community services would be axed.
The MEF is a not-for-profit non-governmental organisation set up last year to encourage public-private partnerships in the field of education, with the aim of making the Island a centre of excellence for key industries. After weeks of planning, a provisional agreement has been reached with the Department of Education and Children to take over the running of the mobile and family libraries. This new deal for the Island’s libraries is in its early stages and has not been finalised, but provides hope for families with young children who stand to lose out if the services are lost.
PokerStars has a longstanding corporate commitment to education and, after learning about the Government plan to cut the programme’s funding, committed to fund the programme for three years to safeguard all employees and maintain the current level of service and fee structure for the libraries. PokerStars will not provide any branding or presence in the libraries and is interested only in keeping the service available to the community.
David Butterworth is an Executive Director of the MEF. He commented on the proposed plan:
“Obviously these are austere times and the need to balance the public finances is a serious one. However, it would be a significant loss to our community to lose the libraries, as literacy is an essential skill in any industry. As such, we are pleased that PokerStars has stepped-up and committed to save these services.”
David concluded: “Public-private partnerships are an essential part of community cohesion and key to the success of the Isle of Man in a difficult international financial situation. I would encourage more local companies to take part in supporting essential public services.”
The provisional agreement is subject to due diligence and contracts, and so may take some time to finalise. A further announcement will be made in due time.
