HUNDREDS OF PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN TO BENEFIT FROM VIRTUAL ROUND THE WORLD RACE

Hundreds of children will have access to additional one-to-one reading support in primary schools following Schoolreaders marathon three month virtual fundraising event.

Race for Reading saw participants clocking up the miles by running, cycling, swimming, litter picking or walking their dogs to help the charity cover the distance around the world in 80 days. 

Collectively, everyone travelled nearly 28,000 miles and raised over £17,000 with donations still coming in. The money will go towards expanding children’s literacy charity, Schoolreaders’ network of volunteers into more schools, particularly those who have children with the greatest need for reading support.

Jane Whitbread, who founded Schoolreaders nearly 10 years ago, said, “People have been very generous at a tricky time financially. For every mile travelled, participants donated to our cause and the funds raised will all be invested into supporting children who need vital reading support the most.

“Even before Covid and the school closures, 1 in 4 children were leaving primary school unable to read well1 but the situation is undoubtedly worse now, particularly for the more disadvantaged children.

“Our network of reading volunteers are highly valued by primary schools. Volunteers spend around 10 minutes with each child listening to them read, talking to them about stories and explaining vocabulary which all aids the children’s reading fluency and comprehension. In total, Schoolreaders is currently providing over 10,000 children with a one-to -one reading session every week. The funds raised through Race for reading will provide 500 children with a year’s one-to-one reading support which will change the life stories of those children.”

Race for Reading was generously sponsored by Kindred who deliver expert cleaning services to the education sector and trusted EdTech company, Maths Circle Ltd; creators of Times Tables Rock Stars and NumBots. Both companies entered teams for the event and covered more than 3,966 miles between them.

Simon Wrenn, Managing Director of Kindred, commented “Our team really enjoyed participating in Race for Reading and working towards the shared goal of raising funds to support Schoolreaders expansion into more primary schools. Many of our staff have seen at first-hand how children have been affected during the pandemic and all wanted to ‘do their bit’ to help the next generation improve their reading skills.”

Nicola Reddy, COO of Maths Circle Ltd added “Literacy and numeracy are vital skills for primary school children. As a company in this sector, we are committed to doing all we can to give more children the chance to enjoy reading regularly with a trusted adult.”

To find out more about Schoolreaders or becoming a reading volunteer, visit: www.schoolreaders.org