We are Doorstep Library, a community-focused charity dedicated to bringing the magic of books and the joy of reading directly into the homes of children across London who need our support.
At Doorstep Library, we’re dedicated to bringing the magic of books and the joy of reading directly into the homes of children who need our support.
With 1 in 4 children in the UK leaving primary school unable to read or write properly, we recruit and train in-person and online volunteers to introduce children from under-resourced areas to the pleasure of reading.
Here in the UK, how well you read has a direct bearing on how well you do in life. For various reasons, not just the cost of living, children coming from disadvantaged areas are less likely to have books, less likely to read with their parents and less likely to read for pleasure. Not only are they more likely to fall behind in their studies as a result, but they also fall behind in their lives. Amongst developed nations, it is the UK that shows the clearest link between poor literacy and unemployment. For most children, there is no way back, because much of what support there is doesn’t reach its target. We leave our most vulnerable children behind. Doorstep Library exists to help as many of these vulnerable families as we can. We believe in the power of words to take children places, not just in their imagination, but in their lives. We want to see a world where all children can thrive in homes in which books are celebrated and a love of reading is embraced.