New Volunteer Recruitment (360G-OCF-A608988)

We will use the grant to cover charity costs of recruiting, training (we hope a hybrid offer of in person/Zoom training will be available from September) resourcing and one year support of 47 new volunteers who, in their first year with the charity, will work with around 150 disadvantaged primary school children, imparting a life enhancing love of reading and improving their confidence and wellbeing following the disruption the results of pandemic has caused. Prior to Covid a new volunteer costed the charity an average of £768 in this first year. We ask participating schools to contribute £450 towards this and source the balance £318 from grants such as this. A grant of £14946 would support the first year cost of 47 new volunteers. Last year, following comprehensive Covid risk assessments we developed an adapted way for our volunteers to work safely in schools, equipping them with visor, sanitisers and duplicate copies of every book and resource so that volunteer and child could share reading at safe distance. This has resulted in extra costs to the charity, most of which we have absorbed. We have however been fortunate to receive donations of duplicate books from local publishers and bookshops and also been granted small amounts of other funding via Councillor Priority Fund etc to help support too.