How you get involved with the Bedford Borough Year of Reading
Volunteering is a fantastic way to support your local community, and your time will help children develop their love of reading and improve their literacy skills.
Currently, one in four children are leaving primary school unable to read to the expected standard.
There are number of different ways you can volunteer, depending on your location and availability.
Schoolreaders
Schoolreaders recruits, trains and places volunteers into local primary schools across Bedford, helping to improve children’s reading skills and life chances.
"I love listening to children read at my local school. The headteacher and other staff are very supportive and I think the children enjoy it nearly as much as I do! I learn about dragons and dinosaurs, boats and rockets, missing teddies and more.” A Bedford Schoolreaders Volunteer.
Schoolreaders is actively seeking more volunteers to support more children in need of literacy support. If you love reading, and can spare just an hour a week, you could become a Schoolreader.
Visit Schoolreaders to find out more and how you can get involved.
Local library volunteering
Libraries have a huge range of activities and opportunities for the community to attend and get involved with.
If you are interested in supporting your local library, you can visit and chat to the staff about the different volunteering options or visit Bedford Borough Council library volunteering.
Bedford Giving
Bedford Giving is a group of passionate businesses, charities and other partners who have all come together with a united single goal – to help create a brighter future for young people in Bedford.
Bedford Giving is are looking for mentors and parent panel members and has other volunteering roles. Go to Bedford Giving for more information and to see what volunteering opportunities are available.