The Children’s Book Project Volunteering
Did you know there’s a ten-month difference in the language development of 11 year old children from a ‘book rich’ home compared with those from a ‘book poor’ home? The Children’s Book Project aims to pass on the books your children have grown out of, and put stories directly into other children’s hands.
At Creature & Co. we are incredibly passionate about ensuring all kids everywhere have access to quality education. We encourage learning from a young age through National Geographic Kids Magazine, which we produce, publish and promote in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
Amongst those passionate about quality education for kids at Creature & Co. are Kirsty, Jackie and Jade, part of our incredible Customer Service team. They are the first point of contact for Nat Geo Kids magazine customers, dealing with emails, calls, live chat, subscription renewal and much more.
As part of their annual volunteer days, of which every employee at Creature & Co. gets two to donate their time and effort to a community project they’re passionate about, Kirsty, Jackie and Jade volunteered for The Children’s Book Project, a brilliant initiative doing important work for kids around the UK.
What is The Children’s Book Project?
The Children’s Book Project seeks to tackle book poverty and to give every child the opportunity to own their own book. They believe in empowering children to choose a book they are motivated to read and in the power of reading communities. They put on book gifting events that are inclusive, joyful and have a tangible impact on every family that participates.
This year they plan to gift over 350,000 books to children via their schools and settings. The vast majority of these come from families happy to find new homes for the books their children have grown out of.
Volunteering for The Children’s Book Project
Here are Kirsty, Jackie and Jade talking about their experience volunteering at The Children’s Book Project:
“This was our first-time volunteering, and it was a very thought-provoking experience, making us realise just how lucky we were growing up surrounded by books.
It’s hard to believe that so many children are without books, and wonderful to see how generous people are in donating their preloved books. Sorting through them triggered many fond memories of reading them as children or with our own families!
When we arrived at The Book Project, we began by quality checking the donated books. The ones in good condition were taken upstairs to be sorted into different genres and categories, and ones in poorer condition were left outside the shop for anyone passing to take. Once we had sorted the books, we then worked with other volunteers to collate each school’s order, making sure suitable books were selected for appropriate age ranges and then boxed up ready to be sent out.
We all went away from the day realising how privileged we are in terms of books and taking them for granted but it was amazing to feel like we had made a small difference in helping children access books.”
Interested in volunteering for The Children’s Book Project?
If you’re interested in taking part in this incredible initiative and donating your time to help The Children’s Book Project, please check out their website here.