This week we’re celebrating the wonderful Volunteers who help bring our projects to life; leading Reading Groups, picking titles and packing parcels on our Store Days, and creating digital content for our project handouts. Our volunteers help us get books to where they’re needed most and Give a Book wouldn’t be the same without them.
So, what better time than #VolunteersWeek to showcase some of our brilliant volunteers!
First up is Ella:
I am an English literature student living in Surrey. I began volunteering as I wanted to gain some experience while I am studying and it has been a wonderful opportunity to be able to get involved in the reading groups. I have enjoyed creating resources and being able to have a direct impact. I love that Give a Book allows volunteers to contribute in a creative way.
Next up we have Neville, who helps create our Book Talk handouts for Prison Reading Groups:
I love reading to people and have previously done that at my church and in hospitals. I was looking for a charity where I could provide this on a volunteer basis. I conducted a search and came across this “Give a Book” charity.
When I wrote to the charity, the project manager, Shamima, explained that due to covid this was currently only happening in a limited way. However, Mima also updated me on other aspects the charity was involved in, and I became interested in the Prison Reading Group “Book Talk” project.
I enjoy reading fiction and have previously reviewed books for informal school and adult book groups. So I thought I would try to assist in this project and I must admit I now do enjoy it. And if/when I am asked to do a resource document for a selected book, I have to step out of my box as I find it a challenge to come up with that. And I seem to thoroughly enjoy how much I have to read, consider and reflect to do that resource document justice. Thank you for giving me this opportunity.
Finally, we’re sharing Noemi’s story. Noemi has volunteered for us for a couple of years and you will have seen some of her wonderful graphic design across our socials – particularly during our 10th Birthday celebrations!
Hi there! I’m Noemi, an enthusiastic reader and a bit of a globetrotter. Originally from sunny Italy, I’ve lived in four cities so far and ended up in Dublin two years ago. When I can’t travel on foot, I like exploring new places through novels… and that’s why since 2020 I’ve been reading a book from every country in the world!
As part of my master’s degree at University College Dublin, I was tasked with carrying out a Media Management Project with a charity of my choosing. When I came across Give a Book’s website, I was amazed by the incredible work that they do in schools and prisons. It was the perfect opportunity to combine my passion for reading with my content creation skills by creating a social media campaign to celebrate GAB’s 10th anniversary. It was such an amazing experience that I decided to continue contributing to GAB’s mission of promoting reading in the hardest places.
Thank you to all of our volunteers and everyone who supports Give a Book. To find out how you can get involved, click here!