Thank you for visiting my JustGiving page.

Beanstalk has been selected as Arbuthnot Latham’s charity of the year. Beanstalk is a national literacy charity that recruits, vets, trains and supports volunteers to work in UK primary schools with children who have fallen behind with their reading and literacy skills. Children receive one-to-one support from a Beanstalk helper who will visit selected children once a week, every week for the whole school year to improve their reading. Sadly, the majority of children who leave primary school having not reached the required reading level, continue to fall behind in secondary education and ultimately in their careers. Shockingly, over half of those arrested during the 2011 London riots did not reach the national reading level upon leaving primary school. There are clear links between falling behind at this stage, and the impact it has on individuals and the wider community in later life.

One reason for selecting Beanstalk as our charity of the year is the opportunity to partake in Beanstalk’s corporate challenge. Arbuthnot Latham is competing against 2 other firms to raise £10,000 for charity; however our aim is to raise £20,000 which will provide support for hundreds of children and volunteers.

I have volunteered to take part in the swimming leg of the London Triathlon as my contribution to the £20,000 target alongside 2 other team members from Arbuthnot Latham. My training plan is in full swing and contains plenty of early morning swims, protein snacks and a daily green smoothie which I am told is healthy.

Please show your support by donating, instructions can be found below. The money raised will provide the following:

£3.25 will pay for one literacy session between a trained Beanstalk reading helper.

£227 will provide a year’s life-changing literacy support.

£1,000 will cover the recruitment, vetting, training and support costs to provide a year’s literacy support to five children.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.