Bookmark Reading appeals for donations as 3,000 book boxes reach Ukrainian children 

Bookmark Reading, a literacy charity that provides volunteer-led reading support for children, has successfully delivered more than 3,000 book boxes to Ukrainian children arriving in the UK following a £1m appeal.

So far, the campaign has raised more than £660,000 of its £1m goal, with Bookmark Reading still asking for donations.

The boxes, for children aged five to nine, include books in Ukrainian and English, and a tablet pre-loaded with multilingual e-books, literacy or language apps and activities.

Each also includes a SIM card, donated by Vodafone UK with 20GB of preloaded data, to enable the child to stay in touch with their family and friends, as well as school stationery sets, sensory games and storytelling aides for therapeutic play.

One parent said: “The Bookmark Box arrived for my son yesterday and he was so excited to open it when he got back from school. The box was amazing with so many thoughtful items – he loved the hand puppet and we will use that to help him read the books. The bilingual books were especially thoughtful. He was of course excited by the tablet and the SIM card will be a real help too. I could go on and on.”