I am working in partnership with Business in the Community and Bookmark to make sure that children in some of the most deprived communities in the UK have a book of their own this Christmas.
Last year, we raised enough to donate 15,000 books to school children in some of the most deprived communities across the UK. This year, with the need even greater, we want to expand this to reach 20,000 children.
This is part of a Place Programme, which is about bringing everyone together in a place to act collaboratively on long-term goals, based on a common agreement of the challenges, opportunities and solutions and drawing on the strengths of everyone in that community – whether they are a business, a community organisation or from the public sector. This is currently live in 9 locations across England; Blackpool, Bradford, Coventry, Lowestoft, Newport, Norwich, Rochdale, Sheffield , Wisbech.
In each of these places, we work in partnership with local schools, with a particular focus on improving literacy skills in primary-age children. With Christmas coming up, we’d like to donate books to school children in all of our places. 1 in 11 disadvantaged children in the UK say that they don’t have a book of their own. Moreover, the children who say they have a book of their own are six times more likely to read above the level expected for their age than their peers who don’t own a book (National Literacy Trust).
To do this, Miles Kelly Publishing have kindly given an incredibly generous discount on their books. The books are fun and interactive, and will both boost literacy skills and spark interest through the fun and unusual facts that feature in them.
£5,000.00 has already been pledged towards the target. We are therefore aiming to raise a further £15,000.00, which will allow us to donate 20,000 books. Working with our local partners on the ground, we will reach the kids that will benefit from this the most, and make sure that they receive a Christmas present that will really make a difference.