Branch newsletter

Shropshire June 2013

Party Time!

Beanstalk Charity House 14-15 Perseverance Works 38 Kingsland Road London E2 8DD T 020 7729 4087 F 020 7729 7643

Beanstalk is the trading name of Volunteer Reading Help. Registered Charity No. 296454 (England and Wales). Registered as a company limited by guarantee in England and Wales No. 2101719.

Party Time
Monday 10th July was our 40th anniversary party. The event was attended by nearly 80 reading helpers both past and present. We were treated to a inspirational speech by Catherine Cooper I believe reading is the passport that enables children to travel on a neverending journey for rest of their lives. The places you can visit are limitless, how else could you journey to the stars, experience a foreign land, or be transported into time and place. When you open a book, no matter what genre, you can only release the magic from its pages when youre able to read. this was followed by music from the very talented Chris Etherington which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. The event proved to be a great opportunity to meet other reading helpers working across Shropshire and share our experiences .After a delicious buffet lunch the mayor of Wellington presented certificates and badges to our long serving volunteers . The day was rounded off with an amazing free raffle which included an escorted day out at RAF Shawbury ,a spa day for 2, three course meals at a local hotel, theatre tickets and passes to the West Midlands Safari park. The raffle also included books donated by local authors who came along to the party to join in the celebrations. A big thank you must go to Janet Brain for the very tasty Beanstalk cake. We had a great day and we hope that you enjoyed it just as much. Hopefully we wont have to wait another 40 years to celebrate the important work that you do.

Within days I had signed up as a Champion. Why did you choose to support the organisation? Beanstalk is celebrating its 40th Anniversary. The charity is well organised and effective countrywide with excellent systems in place and results that are easily quantified. I also like the fact that in addition to my financial contributions, Beanstalk asked me to get involved in helping them in other ways: offering advice, making introductions to others who might support their work; even this interview. This year they asked me to chair the 40th Anniversary Development Board. I am more than happy to help wherever I can I am passionate about the work that Beanstalk does because I cannot imagine what life would be like if you could not read. How could you get around, apply for a job, pass your driving theory test or even learn another language? Being able to read is vitally important. A very basic skill. My children now 22 and 20 were lucky. They learnt to read at an early age, grew up in a house full of books and had parents who were interested and engaged in their education. You have been a Beanstalk Champion for the past two years. What have you gained from the experience so far? The satisfaction that I might be helping people to change their lives for the better and have a skill that I take completely for granted. I really enjoy the enthusiasm of the Beanstalk team. Everything is well thought through and well organised, so I am not wasting a minute of my time, or of theirs! So the time that I give is productive and I am very well briefed. Everyone is exchanging ideas and nothing is too much trouble. If I come up with an idea, however wacky, that I think might help, they are happy to listen. What would you say to someone thinking of becoming a Beanstalk Champion? Come and look, come and see what we do! What is a Beanstalk Champion? Beanstalk Champions are influential individuals or businesses who make major donations and use their creative and strategic abilities and access other leaders to help us support more children. Beanstalk Champions commit to help Beanstalk build a sustainable future by making a significant gift over four years. If you or someone you know would like to find out more about our Beanstalk Champion scheme please contact Liz Bennett on 020 7749 7972 or liz.bennett@beanstalkcharity.org.uk or visit http:// www.beanstalkcharity.org.uk/support-us/become-abeanstalk-champion

Beanstalk Champion
Q&A with Carolyn Ward, Beanstalk Champion How did you get involved with Beanstalk? I became involved through a friend who had supported Beanstalk for a long time. She kindly sent me an invitation to an event which I could not attend but I was then fortunate to be invited to the 2011 reception at the House of Lords. I was particularly struck by what Sue (Porto CEO) had to say and the shocking statistics around illiteracy and also to hear how the life of a now very together young woman had been transformed by her reading helper when she was 10. Shy and unable to read, her dream was to take part in the school play. After working with her reading helper, not only had she been in the play but was the narrator. She now works in the City and is in charge of a team of people.

Beanstalk is the trading name of Volunteer Reading Help. Registered Charity No. 296454 (England and Wales). Registered as a company limited by guarantee in England and Wales No. 2101719.

Beanstalk Charity House

NOOKWhat is it and will you get one?

Beanstalk has received a very generous donation of 1000 NOOKs from Barnes and Noble. A NOOK is an e-reader which allows many books to be stored and read on a device similar in size and weight to a paperback. The screen emulates the experience of reading a printed page. The 1000 NOOKs will be shared between Beanstalks 17 branches. Of course we have no plans to replace good old fashioned books and certainly with younger children a colourful book is simply the best way to engage them. However there are some benefits to reading on a NOOK, here are some: A child is not faced with a seemingly endless number of pages of close typed print, making fun chapter books more accessible. Technology appeals to children and reading on a NOOK can be a good incentive to engage a reluctant reader. The text can be made bigger so that the words dont seem as daunting and there are fewer words to a page. We can link 6 NOOKs to one account meaning that we can purchase 1 copy of a book and it will be available to read on 6 NOOKs. If you are supporting older children and are interested in finding out more about having a NOOK to use with your them, please let the office or your support worker know. We will not be making anyone use a NOOK that does not want to! As well as you being interested in using a NOOK we would need to ensure that the school were happy for the children to read in this way. We will let you know when the new Nooks are up and running and will allocate them according to people who have shown an interest in using them in their session.

Beanstalk launches Charter for Children's Literacy

Beanstalk has published a Charter for Childrens Literacy, calling for a raft of interventions to improve reading standards amongst young people. Currently, one in eight children in the UK leaves primary school unable to read to the required standards. Our recommendations include reform of the primary curriculum to foster creativity by reducing testing, and government funding to provide a trained reading helper in every primary school in the country. High profile support for the Charter has come from former Ofsted Director Sir Jim Rose, HRH Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands, Chair of the EU High Level Group on Literacy, and childrens authors Charlie Higson and Julia Donaldson. Further insights were collected from the CBI, charity heads across the literacy sphere and publishers including HarperCollins, who sponsored the Charter. Sue Porto, Chief Executive of Beanstalk, said: Once young children fall behind in their reading, they struggle to catch up and this damages attainment across their school subjects, significantly reducing their future chances in life. As we mark our 40th anniversary and look forward to the next 40 years, we are calling for the support of a wide variety of stakeholders in effecting change and inspiring the next generations love of reading. The charter can be viewed on our website.

Beanstalk Charity House 14-15 Perseverance Works 38 Kingsland Road London E2 8DD T 020 7729 4087 F 020 7729 7643 E info@beanstalkcharity.org.uk W www.beanstalkcharity.org.uk
Beanstalk is the trading name of Volunteer Reading Help. Registered Charity No. 296454 (England and Wales). Registered as a company limited by guarantee in England and Wales No. 2101719.

Free Internet Training!

Something to Remember
Community Capacity Builder Project According to a recent statistic aired on BBC Radio Shropshire by Martha Lane Fox, the founder of Race Online, which is now GoON www.go-on.co.uk Shropshire currently has 50,000 people who are not accessing the internet. Thats approximately 17% of the population. Our aim is to reduce this statistic by 1.5% over the next 12 months! We will be challenging the county to help us achieve this goal. Challenge Shropshire The NEW Task for Get Shropshire Online is to support more people and communities to use the internet and learn more about the information and tools that are available to them. We are now offering: Free Internet Training! Would your local community benefit from learning how to get online? Would members of your social group or committee benefit from learning how to send and receive emails? If the answer is YES! Give Get Shropshire Online a call! We have a mobile internet connection and laptops that we can bring to you! The training we provide is comprehensive, allowing us to support first time users to use email, get online and learn about how the internet can help you in work and at home. We are also able to offer those who wish to learn more the chance to experience online shopping and learn more about social media through a progression course. We can deliver the training to your social group or members and we can also support you to become Digital Champions for your own community! Please take a look at the online training we will be using www.learnmyway.com . Its simple just Create an Account in the top right corner of the home page and follow the instructions on the screen and quote our Centre ID: 3451 801. It will only takes a couple of minutes to register and its all FREE! To find out more information about who we are and what we do, visit our website : http:// www.getshropshireonline.co.uk/

Schools have additional PD days Please check with your school for dates Our office will be closed between 19th July 2nd September

Dates
Last day of term
19th July 2013

First day Autumn Term

2nd September 2013

Book exchange Office

16th September 2013-10am-1pm

Book exchange Crowmoor

17th September 2013

Half Term
28th October-1st November

End of Term meeting

10am-12pm the Lantern Shrewsbury

Last Day of Term

20th December 2013

First day Summer Term

6th January 2014

Wishing you all a wonderful summer holiday. We look forward to seeing you all again in the Autumn term. Best wishes, The A Team

Supporting Beanstalk: Shop til you drop and help Beanstalk at the same time!
Buying from Amazon? Go to the Beanstalk website before you buy to find a link to Amazon. They offer Beanstalk commission on sales to help us raise funds at no extra cost to you. Beanstalk is registered with www.easyfundraising.org.uk, a website that helps charities raise funds when supporters shop online. Over 2000 well known retailers like Amazon, Argos, M&S, and ebay take part (at varying rates) and you dont even need to remember to do anything, if you install the Find and Remind tool on your Internet browser it will automatically let you know when a retailer qualifies http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/find-and-remind/).

And finally...
If you have had a new DBS certificate (formerly CRB), please take it into school so that they can update their records. If your DBS / CRB is due for renewal then youll need to bring: Birth certificate or Passport Driving license (both parts) please make sure that your license and address on your license are up to date or you may be liable for a fine from the DVLA when we apply for the DBS certificate. National insurance Two items with your address (from the last 3 months) mobile phone bills are no longer acceptable. You will also need to provide all the addresses that you have lived in for the past five years. If you dont have some of these items then please ask as there are other documents that we can accept.

Can you offer a lift?

Please let us know if you need help getting to and from book exchanges or end of term meetings. If you can help by offering a lift to someone who lives nearby, then please get in touch and we can make

contact details
Alison Horton M: E: alison.horton@beanstalkcharity.org.uk Adelle Wilkinson M: E: adelle.wilkinson@beanstalkcharity.org.uk Anita Foster M: E: anita.foster@beanstalkcharity.org.uk Shropshire Beanstalk office number 01952567846

Interesting information
Great news - our new promotional film, launched recently, has been chosen as Film of the week on the Civil Society website: http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/fundraising/blogs/content/14649/ film_of_the_week_beanstalk_promotional_film

Beanstalk Charity House 14-15 Perseverance Works 38 Kingsland Road London E2 8DD T 020 7729 4087 F 020 7729 7643 E info@beanstalkcharity.org.uk W www.beanstalkcharity.org.uk
Beanstalk is the trading name of Volunteer Reading Help. Registered Charity No. 296454 (England and Wales). Registered as a company limited by guarantee in England and Wales No. 2101719.