Along with our partner Macmillan Children’s Books, we are delighted to welcome KPMG onboard to the Marcus Rashford Book Club initiative where, together, we will continue the mission of reaching as many children as possible from disadvantaged backgrounds. The collaboration with KPMG will see a further 50,000 copies of books donated through primary schools, along with supporting physical and digital resources for teachers and parents throughout 2022.
The Marcus Rashford Book Club launched in June 2021 and has already donated over 150,000 books to children via partner schools of children’s food charity Magic Breakfast. Previous books in the reader-recommended programme include A Dinosaur Ate My Sister by Pooja Puri, illustrated by Allen Fatimaharan, and Silas and the Marvellous Misfits by Tom Percival. It was recently announced that The Breakfast Club Adventures, co-written by Marcus Rashford and Alex Falase-Koya, will be the third title in the Marcus Rashford Book Club.
“The Book Club is a really important project of mine and it’s been brilliant to not only see big smiles on the faces of children when they receive the books but to hear how they have been inspired by what they have read and those who wrote and/or illustrated them. We have engaged these children and now we have to keep facilitating them with the right books that not only represent them but can support them. For the Book Club to be self-sufficient and have the greatest impact we need to bring in fantastic partners with similar visions and I’m thrilled to not only welcome KPMG into the fold, but to continue our great relationship with the National Literacy Trust.”
Marcus Rashford MBE
“This year, there has been unprecedented pressure on parents, families and carers to support their child’s education when young people have been out of the classroom and libraries have been closed for months on end. Our research shows that book poverty is focused on the poorest communities where 1 in 11 children don’t own a book of their own. This initiative is incredibly inspiring as it gets books directly into the hands of children who might otherwise go without, and tangibly addresses the widening literacy gap between disadvantaged children and their more affluent peers. We’re delighted to be growing our partnership with Macmillan Children’s Books, the Marcus Rashford Book Club and KPMG”.
Jonathan Douglas CBE, National Literacy Trust Chief Executive
“The Marcus Rashford Book Club has had a brilliant start in 2021 and the programme is strengthened for 2022 with this news today. We are delighted to be deepening our relationship with NLT and welcoming KPMG to the campaign. I know that our shared ambition to develop literacy skills for life and the joy of reading for pleasure will successfully build on the foundation begun this year and that through our partnership we have a renewed opportunity to make a positive impact on even more children’s lives in the coming year.”
Belinda Ioni Rasmussen, MD, Macmillan Children's Books
“Literacy is one of the key building blocks of social mobility and ensuring that every young child in society has equal opportunity to thrive is essential if we are to build a fairer and more prosperous society for all. We are thrilled to have joined forces with the National Literacy Trust, Macmillan Children’s Books and the Marcus Rashford Book Club, donating over 50,000 books to the children who need them the most. As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, this is just one of the tangible ways we can support local communities by improving literacy and along with it, social mobility.”
Rachel Hopcroft CBE, Partner and Head of Corporate Affairs at KPMG in the UK
“It’s a variety of children that benefit from the Book Club, some children who we feel don’t have enough books at home, children in general who are shy and just need that bit of confidence in reading. They walk down the corridor reading a book!”
Jackie Jones, Safeguarding Lead from Button Lane Primary School
"My son came home from school so excited about receiving the book and has been reading it, telling family members about it and, honestly, we the parents were excited too. Thank you so much for thinking of this great idea and for all you do to make a difference in children."
Eden, parent of child at a school participating in the Marcus Rashford Book Club
Further partners supporting the book club in 2022 and beyond will be announced in due course so watch this space.