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DK staff walk to help celebrate 25 years of BookTrust’s flagship programme Bookstart
On Thursday 8th June 250 DK colleagues took to the streets of London to participate in the first DK BookTrust Walk, to celebrate 25 years of BookTrust’s flagship programme Bookstart.Collectively they trekked over 1,250 miles and raised more than £5,000 for BookTrust, the UK’s largest children's reading charity.
Starting at DK’s office on the Strand, the route followed a guided walk along the Thames, which was adapted from DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: London.
The London-based employees have been working throughout the year to help raise awareness and funds for BookTrust, DK’s charity partner for 2017. Each year BookTrust reaches 2.5 million children in the UK with books, resources and support to encourage reading for pleasure, which has been proven to have a dramatic impact on educational outcomes, well-being and social mobility.
A team of BookTrust employees also joined the walk, which took place during National Bookstart Week — an annual celebration of Bookstart, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Since 1992, BookTrust has gifted over 34 million books to children across the country through Bookstart. The programme gives every child in England and Wales a free reading pack in the first year of their life and again when they are 3-4 years old.
This year’s National Bookstart Week theme is ‘Let’s explore outdoors’, and from Monday 5th – Sunday 11th June there will be hundreds of free events around the country for babies, toddlers, preschoolers and their families, at libraries, children’s centres, nurseries and bookshops. DK took part in National Bookstart Week events at Ealing Road Library and Islington Central Library this week, donating over 100 DK books to the children in attendance.
Diana Gerald, CEO of BookTrust, said: “We are delighted DK are helping us mark 25 years of Bookstart with the first ever DK BookTrust Walk. National Bookstart Week is a wonderful week with families across the country celebrating the joys and benefits of sharing books with children from an early age. We are thrilled to be DK’s charity partner of the year, raising awareness of reading for pleasure and the programmes that BookTrust provides. Thank you to all the DK staff for trekking across London and raising an impressive £5,000, which will help us continue to give books, advice and support to families.”
This week of events was just one milestone in a partnership between DK and BookTrust. DK staff previously volunteered for BookTrust’s Bath, Book, Bed campaign, which encourages parents to make reading a part of their child’s bedtime routine, and several individuals will continue to raise funds throughout the year by participating in the Royal Parks Half Marathon and the Thames Path Challenge.
Completing the walk yesterday, DK CEO Ian Hudson said: “Seeing everyone come together to support this incredibly important cause gave me an overwhelming sense of pride. We know that reading can open up a world of opportunity, and BookTrust helps the most vulnerable populations to get access to important resources. I’m delighted that our team’s hard work and energy will be going to support BookTrust’s mission to get every child reading, and I’m looking forward to more joint activities to come.”