HS2 to support Chapter One’s launch into Birmingham! ??

In this issue: New research finds that volunteering boosts productivity and employee wellbeing; we announce HS2 (High Speed Two) Ltd as a supporter of Chapter One’s launch in Birmingham primary schools in September 2024 and call out for new partners; we share a video by Thakeham about our partnership and a volunteer spotlight from 嘉科工程 ; we unveil the shortlist for the Chapter One and Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation story competition - and make a final call out for applications to be a Chapter One trustee!

New research finds that employer-led volunteering boosts productivity and wellbeing

New research from Pro Bono Economics (PBE), commissioned by national volunteering charity Royal Voluntary Service shows that employer-led volunteering is not only good for recruitment, retention and wellbeing, it actually boosts productivity and pay. Meanwhile, another piece of research from the?Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford?also found that wellbeing interventions fail to improve mental wellbeing with one single, positive exception — when companies support their workforce around the option of volunteering.

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HS2 to support Chapter One’s launch in Birmingham in September 2024

We are delighted to announce that HS2 will be supporting our launch in Birmingham primary schools in September 2024! HS2 will be joining AtkinsRéalis, Clyde & Co, Fieldfisher, Hogan Lovells and Mace Dragados as founding partners. Want to join them? With 46.4% of children living in poverty in Birmingham and 50% of wards in Birmingham in the top 10% of literacy need in England, we still need more partners and volunteers for Birmingham schools! Please get in touch with Sarah Taylor , our Business Development Manager, if you want to find out how to get involved.

Thakeham: Why we partner with Chapter One

We just love this video from our corporate partner? Thakeham , showcasing their partnership with Chapter One. Shoutout to the stars of the video, volunteers Johnny Ordidge , Parisa Kanabar and Jo Warburton , who are transforming children's futures with one-to-one reading support at the time when they need it the most.?

Why I volunteer

We shine a light on Karen Winward from our Gold partner 嘉科工程 : “Find out what your pupil enjoys and use it to develop a rapport.”

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Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation story competition

Last month, our Platinum partner Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation and Sodexo’s Parents and Carers network sponsored a Chapter One story writing competition. The competition offered Sodexo employees the chance to use some of their paid volunteering time to craft an online children's story on the theme 'Bringing People Together Through Food'. We are excited to share the shortlist:

• Cooking Pot Woods by Victoria Eames (inspired by the tale of Stone Soup)
• The Parrot Who Loved Carrot by Harriet McKay and her 5-year-old twins Megan and Alistair
• Raccoons’ Big Feast: A Taste of Togetherness by Daria Wilson (who is also a talented illustrator) and her brother Dalton

The winning story (chosen by a panel of children) will be announced on 15 May, International Day of Families. It will be available on the Chapter One reading platform and in our Global Free Library.

Read more about the competition

More partner shoutouts

We are incredibly grateful to all of our 140 corporate partners who are helping to provide children with one-to-one reading support at the time they need it most. We wanted to give some additional mentions to those who have made March a super-exciting month for Chapter One!

• A huge Chapter One thank you to everyone who got involved with World Book Day 2024! It was fantastic to see posts from 19 of our corporate partners and over 100 posts from our amazing volunteers. Special mention to 嘉科工程 , 德勤 and KPMG , whose volunteers made the most posts! Our volunteers from 西门子能源 also held a book sale in their office in honour of World Book Day.
• Volunteers from our Gold Partner 嘉科工程 have been raising awareness of Chapter One through fundraising events in their local offices, and have collected nearly 1,000 books to distribute to Chapter One schools!
• We are delighted to announce that both AtkinsRéalis and 霍金路伟 will become Chapter One Gold Partners from September, pledging support for a minimum of 50+ online reading volunteers!

Last chance to join the Chapter One Board!

Interested in becoming a Chapter One trustee and supporting our ambitious five year strategy for 2024-29? It’s the last call for applications to join the Chapter One Board… Interested in learning more? Read the blog written by our Vice Chair, Alex Green, about the vital role of trustees and access our trustee recruitment pack.

Read Alex's blog

Looking ahead to September

We are planning for the new school year in September and need more partners and volunteers as we have a waiting list of schools wanting to take part in our Online Reading Volunteers Programme.?Please get in touch with Sarah Taylor , our Business Development Manager, if you want to find out how to get involved.