Dear All,We wanted to let you know that the sessions at Whitley Wood are still going strong, thanks to the funding you generously provided.  We're also running similar sessions in other areas of Reading now, and we're writing to invite you to an event at the University on 12th June to celebrate this work.  It would be wonderful if you could attend. We very much hope to see some of you at the event in June, and thanks very much again for your donation.Best wishes,

Daisy and Holly

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From storytime to lifelong readers: Building a Love of Books from the early years

Please join us for a special event showcasing our recent work delivering storybook sessions for parents and toddlers in South Reading. These sessions have aimed to inspire a love of reading, strengthen early language and literacy, and inspire more book-related activities in young families.

This event is an opportunity to:

• Celebrate the community centres, libraries, families and community partners who made this work possible
• Share key findings and successes from the programme
• Thank our funders and supporters
• Explore how we can continue working together to expand access to early literacy experiences in our local communities

Date: 12th  June 2025

Time: 16.00 – 19.00Venue: University of Reading, London Road Campus

We warmly invite policy makers, local government and library representatives, school and early years professionals, funders and community leaders to attend and take part in these important discussions about how best to support young families in Reading.

Please RSVP using this registration form.

Best wishes

Daisy Powell  and Holly Joseph

Dear Donors,

We wanted to get in touch to say another huge thank you for your generosity in supporting the Whitley Wood playgroup. Thanks to the funding you provided the sessions are continuing successfully.  We’re currently on a break over the summer, but very much looking forward to getting started again in September. We are so grateful to everyone whose generosity meant that local families can continue to benefit from these sessions and to receive books to enjoy at home.

We’d also like to invite you all to an event we’ll be hosting at the University of Reading in the Autumn, where we’d love to tell you more about the work that we’re doing. We will give you an overview of the research which led to the project, talk about the sessions themselves, and some of the mothers and children who attended will also be there to share their experiences.   We'll also invite others who contributed to the project (Reading Libraries, community leaders) as well as other interested people who live and work in the area.  Thanks to the success of the session at Whitley Wood we’ve  been awarded funding to run similar sessions in other areas around Reading, and we’ll be able to tell you about these as well as our longer-term plans for the future. There will be refreshments and a chance to talk to others interested in and involved in the project in different ways.

If you’d be interested in attending it would be great if you could complete this form so that we can contact you directly, and to find the time that works best for most people.  If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me on d.a.powell@reading.ac.uk.

Many thanks again for your support for the playgroup. I really hope we’ll have the opportunity to meet you at the event soon. 

Best wishes,

Daisy, Holly, Elli and Rinna

We've done it!

Amazing news - we've achieved (even exceeded) our target!  This is fantastic news - we'll now be able to run these sessions for a full additional year.  Any further funds we receive will mean we can continue to offer more sessions and more books to more families - so please don't let this news deter you from donating!  In the meantime, a huge thank you to our donors - we're so incredibly grateful to you for your generosity.