Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, of course! We’ve had to adjust our programme to meet the current restrictions, and will continue to do so – for example, our storytellers are understandably not allowed to visit hospitals at this time. However, we are currently still able to deliver brand new books to children in hospital, at a time when their need is greater than ever. Anyone reading to raise money for Readathon now will be enormously appreciated in the months to come.

Readathon is a sponsored read run by the UK charity Read for Good – we invite any school in the UK to take part – just create an account, verify your email and order a kit, and you’ll be on your way. We provide everything you need, pupils set their own reading challenge and ask friends and family to sponsor them. The money raised helps buy books for the school and helps us to get books and stories to children who need them in hospitals and schools across the UK. For full details click here.

Click this link for all the options. And thank you, your sponsorship makes a real difference helping us to get much-needed books to children in hospital.

As a UK charity, Read for Good only works with UK schools, including BFPO schools, International schools based in the UK and overseas British schools. If you’re not one of those schools, feel free to use any resources featured on our website – children will love our kids’ page including the fabulous Storymaker.

Your free Readathon kit is stashed with key stage appropriate sponsor cards, bookmarks and stickers for your pupils, plus posters and a fold out tracker for you to track Readathon. There is also everything you need to return sponsor cards and donations to us – plus a free pen!

Readathon is totally flexible, so you can run it in a day, a few weeks, a month or a whole term, it’s really up to you. However, most schools tend to run it for between 2-4 weeks. It slots right into the timetable and can be part of guided reading, class story sessions, or any other reading initiatives.

Readathon can be run by school librarians, literacy coordinators, English teachers, heads of year or even by the school council. It can be run across a class, year group or tutor group, or for the whole school- it really is up to you!

Yes, of course! You can read and raise for as long as you like! Just email reading@readforgood.org to let us know when you intend to finish.

Just use a school compliment slip containing your school’s address and add details of the enclosed payment. If possible, remember to send back any sponsorship cards you have too, as we may be able to claim additional donations through Gift Aid.

Please just use any envelope and our freepost address which is:

Freepost RSSA-XLTA-XBSY

Readathon

26 Nailsworth Mills

Avening Road,

Glos, GL6 0BS

Fabulous – thank you! Our bank details are:

Cooperative Bank

Sort Code 08-90-41

A/C No. 65667174

Please also email reading@readforgood.org  to tell us how much you have paid, the date it was paid and for which school, including postcode.

You can check how much your school has raised in online donations by creating and then logging into your account via our website here https://portal.readforgood.org/. You will need to ensure you have clicked on the link in the verification email you received when you created the account (this may have ended up in your spam or junk folder). If you have any problems with this, or need the verification email resending, please email reading@readforgood.org

The vouchers are valid for one year from the date of issue, which is printed on your Scholastic voucher. If you have problems using your voucher code, please contact Scholastic directly on 0845 603 9091. If you have mislaid your voucher and need us to resend you the voucher code, please email reading@readforgood.org

You can make use of our online resources, including the downloadable sponsor form and launch films, and ask for donations to be made online via our website. Just email reading@readforgood.org so we can open a Readathon for donations. Alternatively, you can set up individual or team fundraising pages via our website too.

Some cities have run mass Readathons in recent years – Liverpool, Manchester and Leicester have all seen hundreds of schools and thousands of pupils reading for Readathon in their cities. Go to our dedicated website page to find out all about our Citywide Readathons.

Yes, of course! Please email reading@readforgood.org so we can create an account for you and send you a Readathon pack. Unfortunately, you will not be eligible for most of our prize draws as this often involves an author visiting a larger, school setting. You can receive Scholastic vouchers, worth 20% of the total you raise, if you are part of an official named group of home educators with, for example, headed paper or an email address to show you are an organisation.

Independent research shows that schools who run Readathon  significantly out-perform schools which don’t, so it creates a culture of reading for pleasure, while helping achieve academic results too! We love to help teachers reach their teaching targets and their CPD goals too. When you’ve completed your Readathon you’ll receive a testimonial from us. Ultimately, Readathon’s sponsored read is such a fun and easy way to get the class or whole school reading – we think you’ll love it!

Our books and stories service is provided in all 30 UK children’s hospitals. For a full list, click here.

A large proportion of our funding comes from money raised by school children taking part in our Readathon, where children are encouraged to read and raise money to buy books for other children in hospital. 

In addition, the generosity of grant making trusts and foundations is also an essential component of our funding.

We have office based volunteers at our HQ in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire who help with anything from packing up boxes of books, to entering feedback from children (and parents) in hospital. 

In addition, we are always looking to augment our Board of Trustees or people with specific skills who can provide tailored pro bono work in areas like digital communications or fundraising. 

Unfortunately we cannot take on volunteer readers or storytellers in schools or hospitals, as this depends on the setting’s own policies and procedures.