Books to Transform the Lives of Local Children

9th June 2019

Children living in poverty are less likely to be able to read as well as their classmates and this can have a serious negative impact on their future*. This Easter instead of campaigning for chocolate eggs we decided to look at what will have more of an impact on a child's life and launched our Book Appeal 2019, with the aim of helping more children to read well and ultimately improve their life chances. 

The response we received was overwhelming and we're delighted to announce that we received in excess of 5,500 brand new books. This far exceeded our expectations and especially as it was a big change from the Easter eggs we have appealed for previously!

Books are just a life to me…there is no limit at all to books and what you can imagine. It makes me feel I’m not here anymore, I’m transported to another world.
Words from one of the children at a Book Club

The books will now be distributed through our Book Clubs which take place every school holiday aiming to encourage and inspire a love of books and reading amongst the children we support and their families. At each Book Club we have on average 100 children attend who get to pick their own books from the 2,500 we take along – a mixture of new and good quality second-hand books. In addition they take part in reading related activities, storytelling, crafts, games and competitions. They are great events and a lot of fun.

Through taking part in our Book Clubs, having books at home and encouraging parents to read with their children we hope to inspire a love of reading and improve the future life chances for even more local children. Thank you to everyone who donated and for helping to give children a more positive future.

* In England, struggling to read is more closely linked to low pay and the risk of being unemployed than in any other developed country - Source: Read On Get On campaign – Save the Children