Read for Good

At Read for Good we work hard to change children’s lives for the better. And it’s important that we continually check to see if our work has impact. Please read our most recent impact report, and judge for yourself.

This brings together the enormous changes seen over the last few years: how Covid has changed the landscapes in which we work, particularly schools and hospitals; how Read for Good responded at the height of the pandemic to better meet the changing needs of schools and hospitals, themselves under so much pressure; and how this has informed our work for the future.

We’ve drawn on some of the successes that came out of lockdown – the appetite for virtual events, which hugely increases our reach; the development of Track My Read, encouraging regular reading at home and giving teachers real-time insights; getting playful with Zoom to create wonderfully interactive and surprising vitual storytelling sessions.

Find out more by browsing an online version of Read for Good’s Impact Report (link below), or if you would like a hard copy, please email reading@readforgood.org.

https://issuu.com/readforgooduk/docs/2022_impact_report

On Thursday 18 November at 10am, we broadcast a special event with Michael Rosen. Over 1,100 schools from Truro to Jersey to Northern Ireland registered 111,696 children for the event. Michael answered questions, performed his iconic Chocolate Cake poem, and talked about his latest book, Sticky McStickstick (Walker Books) based on his recent experience of Covid 19. Walker Books has donated 150 copies of the book to Read for Good to distribute to children in hospital.

The former children’s laureate, poet and author of some 150 books, Michael Rosen said: “I understand that Read for Good’s hospital bookcases all bear an old quote of mine: ‘if you read, the world is yours'. I think I’m even more right now! Creating space and a supply of books that will hook children into worlds and possibilities is important work that Read for Good delivers. Kids reading as a choice – not a chore – will change their world and ours.”

From fairytale lands to faraway galaxies, 50 schools across the country received an emergency £1k bundle of comics and a selection of reading books for fun in June after we received reports of school library stock decimated by the pandemic.

Generous book donations from a variety of publishers, as well as a partnership with Phoenix Comics and a grant from the Siobhan Dowd Trust enabled the donation, with each box containing £350 of books and £650 RRP of comics.

Now we’re looking for funding to deliver a longer-term programme, piloted pre-pandemic, that fills the reading for pleasure stock gap in schools.