Morrisons Littlehampton has a novel approach to supporting schools on World Book Day 2023

Staff and pupils at Georgian Gardens Community Primary School celebrated World Book Day today, March 2, and welcomed a special visitor bearing gifts.

Ali Whitburn, community champion at the Morrisons store in Littlehampton presented a donation of new books for the school library from the Morrisons Foundation.

She said: “I’m delighted that through the partnership between the Morrisons Foundation and the National Literacy Trust we’re able to provide these wonderful books for pupils at Georgian Gardens in our community.

"It’s great to be able to help encourage children to read with their friends, families and teachers and I hope that they enjoy reading the books for many years to come.”

The foundation partnered with the trust to donate a total of 5,500 books to help inspire and nurture a love of reading in more than 100,000 primary school children.

In addition to helping pupils with their literacy skills, the donated books have been specifically chosen to cover topics that are relevant for the development of a child’s mental health, their emotional wellbeing and social inclusion.

Jonathan Douglas, chief executive of the National Literacy Trust, said: “It’s wonderful to be working with the Morrisons Foundation for the fifth year to ensure children in communities all across the country are able to access books and celebrate World Book Day.

“Through schools and the inspirational work of the Morrisons community champions, we’re delighted to be delivering books to thousands of children, many of whom may never have owned their own book before. The right book at that right time could be the spark of a child’s reading journey, and help to develop crucial literacy skills they need to succeed at school and in adult life.”

The trust is an independent charity dedicated to raising literacy levels in the UK, working with schools, parents and local communities to make reading accessible to children from all backgrounds.

The Morrisons Foundation was set up by the supermarket in 2015 and awards grants for charity projects which help improve people’s lives. Since launching, more than £38million has been donated to charities across England, Scotland and Wales.