The United Kingdom is one of the wealthiest developed countries in the world, ranked 6th for GDP and 15th in the UN Index of Happiness.
Despite this, there are severe disparities of income, with thousands of families living at or below the poverty line. Large areas of deprivation are found across the country and this has negative consequences for the health and education of children.
In our global mission to achieve literacy for all children, we work with charity partners, local groups and communities to deliver books and literacy support to children who are most in need. 380,000 children in the UK, particularly those from low-income households don’t own a single book and an estimated 22% of people have a basic level of reading and writing.
We are committed to ensuring every child in the UK gains the literacy skills they need to prepare for their future education and employment. Under the initiative UK Reads, we provide literacy support and learning resources to children in disadvantaged communities across the country.
We are also a voice to spread greater awareness and understanding of literacy. Since 2012, we host the World Literacy Summit at Oxford University to bring together the global literacy community to advocate, champion and educate on the vital importance of literacy.
We distribute literacy packs with new and second-hand books, school supplies, and other literacy resources within the community.
Our pop-up-libraries are filled with donated classic children’s books. Parents are encouraged to take a book home for free to read with their child.
We distribute our book ‘Play a game with me’- a book that comes in 12 languages and English, to further promote reading in migrant and refugees’ families.
We encourage and guide volunteers determined to eradicate illiteracy worldwide to fundraise at their schools, universities, businesses and the community groups to support our projects in Africa and South America.
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