How Read for Good Sets Alight the Literary Love
School children reading to help children in hospital - what could be better? How Read for Good sets alight the literary love, wherever your child may be.
The Read for Good team are the biggest trumpet-blowing, shout-it-from-the-rooftop advocates of children reading for pleasure, whether it be comics or classics, cereal boxes or cake recipes; you name it, we want you to read it...just because it is fun!
We get children motivated to read for fun through our sponsored read in schools - motivated by the fact that they are reading to help us get brand new books and stories to kids stuck in hospital. During your Readathon you can go to the library (school or public), download books to your e-reader, grab a comic, or go to your nearest bookshop where a comfy sofa and endless shelves of books await your visit.
Not only do we advocate reading whatever you want but also reading whenever you want. The possibilities are endless; even standing on your head! #Extremereading
But what about children whose lives are often defined by the four walls of a hospital building? Popping to the bookshop or the library or giddily sharing a favourite story with friends is just not possible. How do children in hospital access the much needed escapism and respite that books and stories can bring?
The Read for Good mobile!
The Read for Good trolley
Enter the unique and rather fabulous Read for Good bright orange mobile bookcase for children's hospitals. It is wheeled right up to a child's bedside, filled to bursting with carefully chosen, brand new books - 120 books delivered every 6 weeks to be exact!
Not only do we have our vibrant book trolley on the loose within our hospital wards, hospital schools and play departments, but every so often we also send out our army of storytellers. They bring magic to the wards of the hospitals, engaging children (and their parents and brothers and sisters) in colourful and interactive stories - from fairy folk law to cyborg gardeners.
And <deep breath> if that wasn't enough we have run a successful partnership with Listening Books for the last two years at seven of our thirty hospitals. The partnership provides thousands of audiobook titles to children, which can be downloaded to a tablet specifially provided by Listening Books and listened online, whether it be by themselves, with tired parents or bored siblings.
Thanks to the lovely people at Listening Books who help us make this happen. In this way we once again transport children beyond the hospital bed and in to Hogwarts, Narnia or Neverland.
'Books are a uniquely portable magic' - Stephen King
This post was written by Jo Jeffrey, Marketing Executive at Read for Good. If you want to find out more about Read for Good then check out their website!
Have you run a Readathon before? Let us know in the comments!
If you liked this post, you may also like My View: Mencap and Learning Disability.