The Big Give Christmas Challenge: How your donations will help

The Reader Organisation is part of The Big Give Christmas Challenge 2013. From today, 5th December to Saturday 7th September, if you donate to TRO through our profile on The Big Give website there's the chance that the donation will be doubled by match funding from The Garfield Weston Foundation. Donate online by clicking the 'Donate Online Now' button as close as possible to 10am today, Friday and Saturday to increase the chance of your donation being doubled, helping us to reach more people through shared reading.

The money we hope to raise via The Big Give Christmas Challenge will be used to appoint a new Project Worker who will share reading with some of the most vulnerable people in society. On a weekly basis we reach groups who are in need of the comfort, companionship and much more that great literature provides, including people at risk of or experiencing social isolation, looked-after children in foster care and those living with dementia.

Our evaluation statistics show the difference shared reading is making to these groups:

• 86% of readers in dementia care home settings were reported to be less agitated and had improved mood following shared reading sessions
• 100% of the looked-after children we read with one-to-one told us they enjoyed reading books they wouldn’t have chosen themselves, and that they enjoyed discussing their ideas and opinions

£20,000 will allow us to employ a Project Worker who will work with 200 vulnerable people, extending the positive effects of shared reading and making a huge difference to many lives.

Here is just one example of the people we read with on a daily basis - your donations could help us to bring more of these stories to life:

"Matthew has early on-set dementia and is much younger than most of the other patients on the ward. He rarely interacts with the other people and appears quite isolated and depressed, talking only in monosyllables and taking a long time to respond to questions. His speech seems slow and impaired: he struggles not only to find words to be able to express himself but also to find the will or desire to make such acts of communication in the first place.

I noticed during a session that centred upon an extract about summer-time from Laurie Lee’s Cider with Rosie that Matthew seemed to be looking about him more than usual and to be listening attentively to what was being discussed by the other group- members. I asked him what he’d like to eat during a hot day in summer. He replied in a single word – ‘Fruit’. I asked him what kind of fruit. He said ‘Apples, oranges.’ This response was quite a breakthrough for Matthew.

On that basis I risked asking him if he’d like to re-read a poem I’d just read to the group.At the end of his reading I thanked Matthew for reading and remarked that he had a wonderful reading voice. He smiled and said, ‘Thank you for saying so.’ The group moved on to talk a bit about the poem, but at the end of the session I came back to Matthew and asked him if he had enjoyed the session. Once again he took several moments to respond and then answer, reverting somewhat to his slower voice but this time managing to articulate himself in full. He said, ‘Yeah. It was elevating.’"

Another one of our readers said: "You have given me my youth back"

Any size donation you can give would be hugely appreciated to help us continue making these moments happen. As there are limited funds available as part of The Big Give Challenge, be sure to donate as near as possible to 10am for the chance of your donation being doubled by match funding. Click the 'Donate Online Now' button on our Big Give profile or click here go directly to the donation form.