Become a Duke of Edinburgh volunteer
We’re incredibly proud to partner with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award as an Approved Activity Provider, offering young people a meaningful way to give back, grow, and work towards achieving their award.
Ignite the joy of reading
Volunteering with Bookmark provides an opportunity to make a real difference while working towards your Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. By reading with a child for 30-minutes once or twice a week, you’ll help improve literacy levels, build confidence and foster a lifelong love of reading. You’ll see your young reader progress, knowing you’re forging the literacy foundation to open up future opportunities.
Why volunteer with us?
We’re proud to be an Approved Activity Provider for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, giving young people a meaningful way to volunteer, grow and work towards achieving their Bronze, Silver or Gold award.
To meet the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award volunteering criteria, you’ll need to volunteer for at least one hour per week for a minimum of:
- 3 months for Bronze
- 6 months for Silver
- 12 months for Gold
You can complete your volunteering in one of two ways:
- Read with the same child twice a week for 30 minutes per session, or
- Read with two different children once a week for 30 minutes per session
I've been doing Bookmark session's for over a month. I feel delighted that I have a volunteer to help me with reading. It helps me to speak English better than before. It makes me happy, and I'm proud of myself.
How do I apply to volunteer?
You can take part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award from the age of 14 up to 25, and the way you volunteer with us depends on your age and education status:
To volunteer, we'll work closely with your school or college and we ask for a minimum group of 5 students (not all of whom need to be completing DofE).
Please contact us at DofE@BookmarkReading.org for more information, and we'll provide details for your Duke of Edinburgh lead teacher.
You can register your interest through our regular volunteering programme. When completing your registration, please include your DofE participation number so we can track your volunteering hours accurately.
Assessment and completion
As a DofE Approved Activity Provider, we’ll complete your assessment once you’ve finished the required number of volunteering hours. We monitor all delivered reading sessions and are only able to provide your assessment report after these have been completed.
We understand that sometimes sessions may be missed due to a child’s unavailability. In these cases, we’re happy to accept evidence, such as screenshots or short email notes, showing how you used that time productively, for example by reviewing upcoming book levels or planning engagement activities for future sessions.
