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Workplace Volunteering with Bookmark

Volunteers are front and centre of our work to help children succeed in school and beyond.

Become a one-to-one reading volunteer through your workplace and change children’s life stories in just one hour a week!

Register to volunteer
Boy wearing yellow headphones and a red jumper looking at a laptop screen where him and his reading volunteer are in an online reading session

About the volunteer role

By volunteering with Bookmark, you’ll be supporting children in disadvantaged communities who are most at risk of being left behind. 

You’ll support a child aged 5 – 11 through two 30-minute reading sessions each week — a small, regular commitment that fits around a busy working life.

Whether you volunteer online or face-to-face, your time helps a child:

  • Build essential reading skills
  • Grow in confidence and self-belief
  • Discover a love of reading and opens the door to a brighter future.

You don’t need any experience; we provide full training and all the materials you need. 

In just one hour a week, you’ll help a child build reading skills, confidence, and belief in themselves — changing the direction of their education and their life.

Find out more about the volunteer role.

Become a Reading Volunteer

Just one hour a week can help a child gain confidence, improve literacy, and fall in love with reading.

Register now

Why volunteer with Bookmark?

There are many reasons volunteers choose to share their time as a reading volunteer, including:

  • Support children who need one‑to‑one reading help

  • Choose flexible volunteering that fits your life

  • Boost a child’s confidence through reading

  • Join a supportive volunteer community

What volunteers say

We take pride in offering a volunteer role that is impactful, enjoyable and accessible.

  • Even if one child is influenced to think “books are for me” or “I can do this” or “I do want to go to university and study English” – what an incredible difference to have made just by virtue of spending two half-hours a week with them.

    Claire, Volunteer
    Volunteer with black rimmed glasses sat in front of laptop at her dining room table. She is smiling at the camera and about to type on the keyboard.

  • My reader really struggled at first with even simple words but he has improved steadily, giving me a real sense of achievement. I can really see the improvement he is making...

    Volunteer
    woman with short curly brown hair looking out a window. she is smiling.

  • It's lovely building the relationship and seeing the child begin to trust you, volunteer their own thoughts and ideas, and become more confident.

    Volunteer, Close Brothers

  • It was lovely speaking to my reader in our reading session. She said she loves turtles, so I was able to find a book that captured her imagination for us to read together. She is amazing!

    Volunteer, DHL

Ready to make a difference?

With just one hour a week, you can help a child gain confidence, enjoy reading and unlock new opportunities.

Register to volunteer