19 June 2018

A special ‘thank you’ event was held earlier this month at the Norwich Millennium Library to recognise the contribution made by volunteers in Norfolk who support children with reading in local primary schools. Reading charity Beanstalk hosted the get together as part of Volunteer Week celebrations bringing together trained reading helpers (volunteers), teachers, parents and pupils from local schools which the charity works with across Norfolk.

Beanstalk trains and supports reading helpers to provide one-to-one support to children aged 3 to 13 in a variety of ways, turning them into confident, passionate and able readers. Each volunteer is trained by Beanstalk and helps children one-to-one, every week at a local primary school or early years setting. The sessions are fun, interactive and hugely beneficial to the children receiving extra support.

During the special event performers from the Garlic Theatre performed a snippet of their fantastic ‘Jack and the Beans Talk’ production while guests were also treated to special readings from local authors George Szirtes and Paeony Lewis.

Claire Wall, Beanstalk Team Leader for Norfolk, said: “It was wonderful to celebrate and hear from our dedicated trained reading helpers about the joy and pride they get from the experience of volunteering with Beanstalk. It was also lovely to hear the teaching staff speaking so highly of the impact their Beanstalk trained reading helpers have had this year on pupil progress and confidence.”

Beanstalk needs more compassionate and caring members of the local community that would like to volunteer as reading helpers in Norfolk. For more information or to apply, please visit our volunteering page.