In addition to the efforts of Marcus Rashford to stop disadvantaged children from going hungry, he has now teamed up with publisher Macmillan and the children’s food charity Magic Breakfast to help get children reading again. Macmillan will donate 50,000 books which will be distributed amongst more than 850 primary schools across England and Scotland. The campaign aims to get children excited about reading and reading for their own enjoyment when they don’t have access to books at home.
A survey by The National Literacy Trust in 2019 showed that more than 380,000 children in the UK(between ages 9-18) don’t own a single book.
The book club is set to launch in June 2021 with the distribution of the first book A Dinosaur Ate My Sister by Pooja Puri.
Marcus Rashford MBE said, “For too long, the joy of reading has been restricted by whether or not a family has the contingency budget to purchase books.”
Furthermore, the Manchester United striker has now partnered with WHSmith, The National Literacy trust and Macmillian in their #BeAChampion charity campaign.
WHSmith will gift a copy of You Are A Champion, written by Marcus Rashford, to a child who may not be able to purchase their own, for every copy purchased.
Customers will also be able to donate in WHSmith stores and on their website; all donations will be transferred to the National Literacy Trust to fund resources, including books and literacy support for children, for children for socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Words by Claudia Birchenough
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