According to the National Literacy Trust, 1 in 5 children aged 5 to 8 do not have a book at home.
Book ownership has been directly linked with improved mental health among children, while reading fluency itself has a significant impact on children’s successful progression through education.
Indeed, there is a 10-month difference in the language development of 11-year-old children from a “book rich” home compared to those from a “book poor” home.
The Children’s Book Project is a charity that seeks to tackle book poverty and give every child the opportunity to own their own book. This year the charity will gift over 400,000 books to children through their schools and other settings, and Altura have joined forces with this terrific cause.
Read on to find out more about this terrific reading charity, and how Altura will be helping with both time and fundraising.
Donating 400,000 books to families who need them
The Children’s Book Project believes in empowering children to choose a book they are motivated to read and in the power of reading communities. They do this through regular “book gifting events” that are inclusive, joyful and have a tangible impact on every family that participates.
Most of the 400,000 books that will be donated this year come from families happy to find new homes for the books their children have grown out of. By running a book drive to encourage donations of used books, the charity helps to secure a supply of pre-loved books that are placed directly into the hands of those families that will benefit most.
We’re delighted to partner with the Children’s Book Project, and we will be helping them in two ways.
Volunteer Day
The Altura team will be heading to the project hub in London this September to spend a day working alongside the team.
We’ll be spending the day sorting and packing in their warehouse, preparing boxes of books to be distributed across the capital and beyond to the families who will benefit most.
We’re told it’s a “social event with a high degree of hands-on involvement” and the team are raring to go!
Donations for every piece of new business
In addition to helping the charity pack and distribute books, we’ll also be making a donation every month based on each piece of new business that we write. So, we’ll make a contribution to the project for every new:
- Mortgage application
- Protection policy
- General insurance policy.
We’ll also make a donation for every referral we receive from an existing client.
Liberty Venn from the Children’s Book Project says: “As a charity, we’re reliant on the generous support of businesses like Altura to fulfil our goal of helping to improve children’s literacy and to get much-loved books into the homes of the families who need them the most.
“We’re really looking forward to our partnership with Altura and welcoming the team to our book hub this September.”
Get in touch
Head to the Children’s Book Project website to find out more about their terrific work. And if you’d like to indirectly support this great cause by arranging your mortgage, protection, or insurance through Altura, email [email protected] or call us on +44 (0) 20 3411 0079.
