Asda have announced the launch of a partnership with nationwide charity The Children’s Book Project to donate customers’ pre-loved children’s books to families in the local community.
The Children’s Book Project seeks to tackle book poverty, gifting surplus new and pre-loved books to children that have very few books of their own. Between 1- 21 April 2024 Community Champions in six Asda stores across Leeds, including Middleton and Asda Living at Crown Point in Hunslet, will host a book donation point in stores.
Local families are invited to drop off any books they’ve grown out of. Together the two organisations expect to collect and re-gift over 10,000 books to children via targeted primary schools, community groups and other settings as part of a pilot which if successful, will see the project potentially expand.
Book poverty has a measurable impact on children’s social and emotional development, as well as their education outcomes, and the charity’s core mission chimes with Asda’s wider, ongoing initiatives to support cash strapped families. Through this partnership more children will have the chance to lose themselves in a book, to share stories with their wider family and to be inspired by the illustrations within. Books can make amazing things happen: vocabularies expand, empathy grows, imaginations are ignited and children learn.
In addition to hosting in-store donation points, Asda colleagues will be able to participate in planned volunteering opportunities with the Children’s Book Project and will hear about the impact their support has had within their local community.
Asda National Charity Coordinator Carolyn Francis said:
“We’re proud that we can host accessible book donation points in our stores. All children should be able to access a book without the cost being a barrier. This is also a great opportunity for families to have a bit of a clear out and donate any books that their children may have grown out of which will then go on to benefit many other children in the local community.”
Children’s Book Project Founder and CEO Liberty Venn said:
“We are absolutely thrilled that with Asda’s support so many thousands of families will have the opportunity to learn about the joy that their children’s books can bring to another child and will be so easily able to donate them. Asda stores have strong local connections, and we look forward to seeing the impact that donated books have within their communities.”
This post is based on a press release issued by Asda
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