Corporates
Here at Bookmark, we develop partnerships that deliver on impact and engagement. Together, with our corporate partners and volunteers, we are changing the story for children.
Partner with us
Do you want to engage your team to make a direct and lasting impact on children’s literacy?
We are a rapidly growing charity with experience developing successful partnerships with companies of all sizes. Together we can support children in disadvantaged areas to read, providing meaningful opportunities for your colleagues and customers to engage in our partnership.
Whether it’s through donations, fundraising, a commercial campaign, corporate volunteering, or developing something unique to you, we’d love to hear from you.
Get in touch and our Corporate Partnerships Team will reach out to you directly.
Why become a partner?
Children who leave primary school unable to read well are more likely to drop out of school, which in turn can lead to unemployment, poor mental health and even a shorter life expectancy. Together with your employees, we can give children the reading support they need to succeed in school and beyond.
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1 in 4 children
leave primary school unable to read well*
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1 in 4 schools
in disadvantaged communities don’t have a reading space or library**
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1 in 5 children
aged 5 to 8 don’t have a book of their own at home***
Strategic partnerships
We are always looking to develop tailored partnerships that drive impact, deliver on corporate social responsibility objectives and engage your employees. Together, we can build a partnership that helps to close the literacy gap for children in communities that need us the most.
Corporate volunteering
Give your team the opportunity to make a direct impact on a child’s life with our one-to-one reading programme.
Charity of the Year
Choose Bookmark as your Charity of the Year and bring your team together to make an impact on children’s literacy. We’ll create a partnership that delivers on your strategic and community goals, builds team engagement and gives your people the opportunity to make a tangible impact on children’s education.
Commercial campaigns
We can work with you to design a campaign that raises awareness and funds for children’s literacy, and is also tailored to a particular commercial issue, product, behaviour or customer group you would like to incentivise.
Our supporters
Take a look at our brilliant supporters who are changing children’s stories with us.
Testimonials
Hear more from our corporate partners and volunteers
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We’re very proud to partner with Bookmark and provide Barratt Developments PLC employees with meaningful opportunities to get involved to support children’s literacy. From putting books in the hands of children who need them the most to providing valuable one-to-one reading sessions, we are so excited to support Bookmark and their vital work improving children’s literacy in communities across the country.
Andy Button-Stephens, Head of the Barratt Foundation 
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So many of my employees are saying they want to give back to the society in which our clients live. Working with Bookmark is perfect because we can help every town, city, and even village in need of support and you can demonstrably see how you are making a difference in these local communities.
Dawn Marriott, Former CEO, Azets, and Partner at Hg 
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I feel happy to know that I am helping a child to read, and it is also improving my skills too. I have really enjoyed the training and optional training videos. I feel they have helped me improve and I want to continue to learn and improve. I am hoping to keep volunteering long term.
Corporate volunteer 
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I liked that the Bookmark reading programme worked around my schedule! Over the course of the six-week programme, I was really able to get to know the pupil and enjoyed seeing their progress and development.
Corporate volunteer 
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It's lovely building the relationship and seeing the child begin to trust you, volunteer their own thoughts and ideas, and become more confident.
Volunteer, Close Brothers 
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It was lovely speaking to my reader in our reading session. She said she loves turtles, so I was able to find a book that captured her imagination for us to read together. She is amazing!
Volunteer, DHL 
Explore more
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5 Ways Bookmark Can Boost Your CSR Approach
Spark the joy of reading in a child and discover how Bookmark Reading Charity can boost your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) approach.
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Celebrating a Milestone: Close Brothers Reaches 1,000 Reading Sessions with Bookmark
Hear from Bookmark’s corporate partner, Close Brothers, about how they reached their 1,000 reading session milestone!
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The Big Help Out: Wrapped
Bookmark Reading Charity partnered with the Big Help Out to spread the word about volunteering with Bookmark! Here’s our round-up of what happened over the week.
Frequently asked questions
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Thank you for considering donating to Bookmark, which will help us support more children to read! Please fill out our Become a Corporate Partner form and a member of our team will get back to you.
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Yes! We are always looking for more volunteers to deliver our online one-to-one reading programme. If you are interested in a volunteering partnership with us, please fill out our Become a Corporate Partner form and a member of the team will be happy to speak to you about how we can work together to support more children to read.
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We are always looking for volunteers to deliver our one-to-one reading programme. Our online platform means that volunteers can book sessions that suit their schedule and help children to read from their desk. Please see our Corporate Volunteering page to find out more.
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If you are interested in partnering with us, please fill in our Become a Corporate Partner form and a member of the team will be happy to speak to you about how we can work together to support more children to read.
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If you are 16-17 years old and have been advised by your school or sixth form to apply, you are a reading mentor. If you have been directed to volunteer with Bookmark through your workplace, and your employer has a partnership with us, you are a corporate volunteer. Otherwise, you are a Bookmark volunteer.
*Department for Education Reading England’s Future (literacytrust.org.uk)
**National Literacy Trust and Penguin Books
***National Literacy Trust (2022 Annual Literacy Survey).
