We've delivered our 100,000th reading session!

As a charity, we recently hit a goal on the way to our mission to ensure every child has the same opportunity to discover the joy of reading. Together our volunteers have delivered 100,000 one-to-one reading sessions with children. Meet Bart, the volunteer who delivered this momentous session and helped us reach this goal.

How does it feel to know you delivered Bookmark’s 100,000th reading session to a child?

“Besides being quite a coincidence, I enjoy each and every session with the kids massively. Each session can be quite different, depending on their mood, the experiences they had that day and their energy level, so you have to adapt your lessons sometimes to that, but that's a challenge that I like. Each child responds differently to reading, to you helping them out, to which books they prefer, and gets triggered by different components of a storyline. That always excites me.”

What motivated you to become a Bookmark volunteer?

“Being active in the online marketing space, I feel that I sometimes miss a societal meaning to my work. I don't want to work 40 hours a week dedicated to increasing shareholder profit because I believe there's more to life than that. I moved to the UK in 2020, before moving here I always did similar voluntary work in the Netherlands. My Mom's an English teacher, I've always loved languages in general and when I read that a large percentage of British youngsters aren't fully able to comprehend texts after they finish primary school I was flabbergasted. So I googled which organizations do something in the sphere of languages, reading and helping young kids up their reading game and then I found Bookmark.”

Can you share a memorable moment from your programme with your reader?

 “I remember that one of the teachers came to me after a couple of weeks into the programme and said to me something like: “there's been such a massive difference with this kid, previously he was extremely shy and not eager to read in public, and now it’s a complete 180 and he is gaining confidence in the classroom”. It's not only about reading itself but also about the confidence that you give these kids to speak out, be vocal, ask them about their lives and hobbies and you really see them develop as a person. It's really rewarding to see that development taking place and have a small share in that process.”

In your opinion, what makes reading such an important skill for people of all ages?

“Reading is just such a fundamental part of taking part in society. When you write a motivational letter, or read news on your phone, everything involves reading and understanding what a text is about. And what people underestimate is that once we don't get kids to a certain level before the age of 12, it's extremely hard for them to pick it up later in life. When you deal with kids who come from non-native speaking English backgrounds, where reading isn't a common activity at their home, you can make such a huge difference by just sitting one-on-one with them for two half hours a week. If we don't put in their effort, and they don't manage to up their reading game, it might sound dramatic, but that will harm them for the rest of their lives. We have to avoid that at any cost, which is why I believe in the goal of Bookmark.”

If you’d like to help a child discover the joy of reading, you can find out more about volunteering with Bookmark here.