Overview

Bookmark is one of a handful of charities that PAI Communities has selected to support in 2024

We think Bookmark does some great work for young children and wanted to further our support, so we'll be running the London Landmarks Half Marathon (a nice change from our usual Barry's class)

We'd be grateful any donation you are able to give - and as a nice bonus, PAI Community have kindly offered to match anything we raise to double the benefit to Bookmark!

About Bookmark

At Bookmark, we want every child to read.

Currently, more than one in four children leave primary school unable to read well. Disadvantaged children are disproportionately affected, leaving primary school on average a year behind their peers. Furthermore, one in five children in the UK don’t own a book of their own at home.

Reading is about so much more than just books, it’s a cornerstone to feeling safe, secure, and independent. Without the ability to read, we would not be able to succeed in school, secure employment, or even understand a medical prescription.

Children who don't read well are more likely to drop out of school, become unemployed, or even have a shorter life expectancy.

Bookmark helps children develop the reading skills and confidence they need for a life of opportunity by delivering wrap-around support to schools which includes:

1) One-to-one six-week volunteer-led reading programmes - for children at risk of not meeting the expected standard in reading

2) Termly or one-off book packs - to support the development of engaging reading spaces and strong reading cultures in schools

3) Termly literacy magazine 'The Story Corner’ - delivered just ahead of the school holidays so that children have access to high quality reading materials at home

4) Providing additional support to teachers - through grants, literacy consultancy, support and training resources

Here are a few ways you could help them make every mile count:

£10 - could gift a school a book for their library, treasured by a child who might not own a book of their own

£25 - could gift 50 children their very own Bookmark Story Corner magazine to support reading at home

£100 - could gift seven headsets to a school so that children can complete Bookmark’s online reading programme

£240 - could gift a collection of brand new, diverse and engaging books to two schools to transform their libraries

£640 - could support one school to take part in Bookmark’s Comic Book Club, designed to engage reluctant readers by providing schools with a pack of graphic novels

£1,500 - could onboard eight new Bookmark volunteers, ensuring they are fully trained and able to deliver one-to-one reading sessions with children falling behind

Thank you for supporting Bookmark and for helping to change children’s life stories