Pupils at Sacred Heart turn a new page this World Book Day

Emma Pedgrift, Community Champion from the Morrisons store in Rochdale delivered the books to Sacred Heart Primary School

Pupils at Sacred Heart Primary School, in Rochdale, have received a bundle of new books for their school library, thanks to the Morrisons Foundation in partnership with the National Literacy Trust. 

The Morrisons Foundation donation comes after a recent study conducted by the National Literacy Trust showed that reading has provided a vital refuge for children during the ongoing lockdowns. 59% of children stating that reading during lockdown made them feel better, 32% said it helped them when they felt sad that they could not see their family and friends, and 50% of children said that reading inspired them to dream about the future beyond Covid-19.

Emma Pedgrift, Community Champion from the Morrisons store in Rochdale delivered the books to Sacred Heart Primary School.

Emma said: “I’m so proud to be helping kids in my community through this donation of books. We are living through challenging times and I hope these stories will give children at Sacred Heart Primary School some fun and enjoyment.”

The donation to Sacred Heart Primary School is one of 497 schools throughout England, Scotland and Wales that has received one of the book bundles which includes The Extraordinary Life of Amelia Earhart by Sheila Kanani and The Racehorse Who Learned to Dance by Clare Balding.

The initiative aims to encourage 125,000 children from local communities to discover a love of reading this World Book Day and over the past three years Morrisons Community Champions have shared out 20,000 books with schools in their local communities.

David Scott, Morrisons Foundation Trustee said: “We’re delighted to be teaming up with the National Literacy Trust again to provide books to thousands of pupils across the UK. We hope these books for school libraries in our local communities will give enjoyment to children and help to boost their literacy skills.”

Jonathan Douglas CBE, Chief Executive of the National Literacy Trust said: “We are proud to join forces with Morrisons Foundation to provide thousands of books to children who need them most this World Book Day. Books have the power to change children’s life stories and the books provided through this fantastic initiative will also provide inspiration and comfort during this continued time of uncertainty.”

The Morrisons Foundation was set up by Morrisons supermarket in 2015 and awards grants for charity projects which help improve people’s lives. Since launching over £31 million has been donated to hundreds of charities across England, Scotland and Wales.