Let’s help Ukranian kids start new chapter in life

With thousands of children arriving in our communities over the last few months, separated from their loved ones and belongings, we understand that they may not be able to attend school straight away, so will need support with their education. Language barriers may also leave them feeling isolated.

I am writing to highlight the Bookmark Reading Appeal which is seeking to raise £1million to support the Ukrainian children aged five to nine arriving in the UK.

We want to offer Ukrainian children currently living here a Bookmark Box for Ukraine, which includes high quality books in Ukrainian and English, a tablet pre-loaded with multilingual eBooks, literacy and language apps, activities together with a SIM card to stay in touch with family and friends, school stationery sets and sensory games and story-telling aides for therapeutic play.

The box will give them tools and resources to help them feel secure and begin the process of healing.

We want to give them a warm welcome and help them to start a new chapter in their life and want to offer comfort in stories.

The boxes are being distributed through local authorities, the Association of Ukrainians in GB, and charities providing local support.

They’ve been designed with teachers and other literary expert, and we’ve also received support from publishers, authors, illustrators, technology and EdTech companies and other corporate partners.

We would like to invite your readers to support Bookmark’s Ukraine Appeal to help children aged 5-9 start their new chapter in the UK.

Readers can donate at https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/readforukraine?success=true.

Sharon Pindar
CEO of Bookmark Reading
Saint James’s, SW1Y 4LR