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Mariella Frostrup supports Mia’s Campaign to give children a route out of poverty
28 Jan 2013
Mariella Frostrup and leading authors including Ruth Rendell, Charlie Higson, Anthony Horowitz and Lauren Child are supporting our campaign to ensure disadvantaged children gain the literacy skills they need to get a job and succeed.
A film narrated by Mariella tells the story of an eight-year-old girl called Mia who lives on a tough estate. Her parents and brothers are illiterate so there are no books at home or stories at bedtime. However Mia attended our storytelling events and chose books of her own to keep. Against all expectations she has become the first reader in her family and will have opportunities her parents never had.
We are asking members of the public to make a donation to Mia’s Campaign to help more children like Mia. The charity receives no government funding and works with 38,000 disadvantaged children and young people every year. Money raised could help the charity to provide books and storytelling events for children from low-income homes; workshops to help struggling teenagers prepare for the job market; and one-to-one support for parents unconfident with literacy.
Campaign supporter Mariella Frostrup said:
Many of us are lucky enough to take literacy for granted and so fail to recognise how life-changing the ability to read can be for a child. Not only do books take us beyond our own experience and into a world of the imagination but they also enlarge our horizons and open up a world of greater opportunity. Children living in poverty are more likely to be from homes where there are no books or their parents can’t read. I’m delighted to support the National Literacy Trust’s campaign to give more children the chance of a better future.
National Literacy Trust Director Jonathan Douglas said:
We know that if you can read, you can succeed. We want the public to help us give more children like Mia a route out of poverty. Just £7 could inspire a child to become a lifelong reader with a storyteller event and a book to keep. £20 could pay for a struggling teenager to attend our workshops and gain the skills they need to get a job. At this time of unprecedented economic hardship, our charity’s work has never been so necessary.
The charity is launching the campaign to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Author ambassadors will be lending their support throughout the year. Planned activities include a Where’s Wally? fun run in London in March and a parliamentary commission on literacy.
View the film featuring Mariella Frostrup.
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National Literacy Trust 20th anniversary ambassadors
Antony Beevor Malorie Blackman
Lauren Child Cressida Cowell
Duran Duran Charlie Higson
Anthony Horowitz Ruth Rendell
Axel Scheffler Joanna Trollope
