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1 in 4 children in the UK leave primary school unable to read or write properly. At Doorstep Library, we recruit and train volunteers to introduce children from under-resourced areas to the pleasure of reading. As a volunteer, you’ll visit the same online every week with a selection of eBooks to share with the children and encourage their love of reading. You will: Handpick books based on the children’s age, interests, and reading level, visit them online with your volunteer partner for 20-minute reading sessions, and build trusting relationships with families.
We offer different volunteering opportunities depending on your availability. You must be able to make a commit to: one evening a week (Regular Volunteer), one evening every other week (Semi-Regular Volunteer) or once every 3 weeks (Stand-In Volunteer) during school term times. We also ask that you fully comply with our safeguarding procedures. Our volunteers should enjoy spending time with children, have comfortable fluency in English, be non-judgmental and respectful of a variety of lifestyles and children’s learning, have excellent communication skills, and be reliable, friendly, confident and patient.
Volunteers gain as much from their reading sessions as they give, often citing it as the highlight of their week. Becoming a Doorstep Library volunteer allows you to share your passion for books and reading whilst making a real difference to the lives of others. Plus, you can build your confidence, develop skills and enhance your CV within our friendly Doorstep Library team.
Regular volunteers: 2.5hrs per week Semi-regular volunteers: Once every 2 weeks Stand-in volunteers: Once every 3 or 4 weeks
