As part of Careers & Wellbeing Week 2023, we’ve partnered with Bookmark - a fantastic charity whose mission is to help every child learn to read, so they can succeed in school and beyond.
At Bright Network, we’re passionate about supporting the next generation with the tools they need to succeed. That’s why we’re proud to hold a long-term partnership with Bookmark and we’re excited to be working with them this Careers & Wellbeing Week through Walk for Words.
Why we're Walking for Words
Walk for Words is a national fundraising initiative dedicated to helping children find the love of reading and supporting them in having a bright future.
The premise is this:
A child who reads 1-2 times a week will hear 58,908 more words by the time they're five years old than a child who doesn't read.
Children who don’t have the tools and support that they need to read 1-2 times a week won’t be able to reach their full potential - and it’s beyond their control. 7.1 million adults in England struggle to read and face challenges at home, in the workplace and with loved ones. We want to help put an end to this and ensure all children have the best start to life.
This Careers & Wellbeing Week, we’re individually walking 58,908 steps to raise awareness for the fantastic work that Bookmark does to help young people realise their potential and to help close the gap in children’s literacy.
Reading and wellbeing
By learning to read, children are not only able to access more opportunities, but they’re also encouraged to find the love of reading too.
Globally, children and adults are motivated to read because it gives them the chance to do something they enjoy - something that helps them learn, discover, feel and more. Plus, reading benefits our mental wellbeing by helping to reduce stress and by providing a way to ‘shut off’ from work or studying.
Adults who read for just 30 minutes a week are 20% more likely to report greater life satisfaction, and 19% of adult readers say that reading stops them from feeling lonely (Centre for Research into Reading, Literature and Society (CRILS)).
Careers & Wellbeing Week is all about providing the tools to help young people look after themselves - including finding a balance between looking after their career, body and mind. We’re Walking for Words to support children’s wellbeing through reading - here’s why:
- When asked to indicate why they read, children answered with reasons relating to wellbeing including the following: it helps them relax, it makes them feel happy, it makes them feel better when they're sad and it helps them deal with problems. (ImpactEd 'Impact in Practice' Spring Report)
- Pupils who have a quiet space to read enjoy reading more often and have higher wellbeing levels than those without a quiet space to read. (ImpactEd 'Impact in Practice' Spring Report)
- Children who are the most engaged with literacy are three times more likely to report higher levels of mental wellbeing than children who are the least engaged (39.4% vs 11.8%) (National Literacy Trust).
- Pupils who have high confidence in and enjoyment of reading tend to have higher wellbeing and lower anxiety levels than their peers. Pupils who enjoy reading have higher wellbeing levels than those who don’t enjoy reading at all. Confident young readers also experience higher wellbeing levels and lower rates of anxiety than under-confident readers (ImpactEd 'Impact in Practice' Spring Report)
Will you Walk for Words with us? Find out how you can support us via our Walk For Words JustGiving page.