Bondholders urged to back literacy campaign

Leading flex office operator Cubo is appealing for volunteers to support its campaign with a national literacy charity.

The firm, which was founded in Derby and now has 11 sites across the UK, adopted Bookmark Reading Charity as its annual charity for 2024 following a successful Christmas campaign, which raised £750.

Now, Cubo is expanding its efforts and looking for volunteers to join Bookmark’s Online Volunteer Reading Programme.

Volunteers will be required to take part in 30-minute sessions either once or twice a week, reading stories and playing games with a child between the ages of five and 10 on the charity’s secure online platform.

The programme involves 30-minute sessions with the same child, for six or 12 weeks.

Volunteers just need to commit to completing at least three programmes a year, although it is hoped they will do more.

Rebecca Brough, from Cubo, said: “We are thrilled to be supporting the Bookmark campaign and have recruited our own team of Cubo volunteers who will be taking part in the online reading programme.

“We hope businesses and individuals will join us as volunteer to help develop vital literacy skills that will make a lasting impact on children’s lives.”

Bookmark works with children who face barriers to becoming readers by providing one-to-one reading programmes, both online and in person.

The charity also equips schools with dedicated resources to offer wraparound support, providing diverse, high-quality books, materials for extracurricular reading, and on-going support for teacher training and development.

As part of its mission, Bookmark aims to deliver more than 50,000 one-to-one reading sessions to children during 2024.

Sharon Pindar, founder and chair of trustees at Bookmark, said: “Our thanks go out to Rebecca and her team at Cubo for supporting this vital charity, which does such important work to improve literacy skills among young children.

“Helping a child learn to read will help them succeed, in school and beyond.

“By volunteering, you’ll get to see your young reader progress, knowing you are opening a world of opportunity for their future.”

To get involved in the project visit https://www.bookmarkreading.org/volunteer