Children Today Charitable Trust, has launched a crowdfunding campaign for a children’s reading project, which aims to spread awareness of disability and neurodiversity and celebrate inclusion and diversity.   

Following the overwhelming success of the charity’s inclusive storytelling sessions which took place earlier this year, the Cheshire-based charity is keen to expand the project and bring inclusive literature to even more young children across the region.

Emma Prescott, charity director at Children Today explains:

“Up to 15-20 per cent of children in the UK are neurodivergent, and 11per cent have a physical disability, but these young people are significantly underrepresented in children’s literature. I must admit there have been improvements in representation in recent years, but still only an estimated 3.4 per cent of children’s books feature a main character with a disability.

“It’s crucial for children to read about and see disabled and neurodivergent characters. Such representation ensures that disabled children feel included, heard, and inspired, while non-disabled children are encouraged to understand and embrace diversity.

“Reading is the bedrock of all learning for children, and it’s our mission to raise awareness of disability and neurodiversity amongst young people and foster an inclusive environment through the power of storytelling.”

The charity piloted the project during National Storytelling Week earlier this year with six online sessions featuring authors from across the globe, including two-time Paralympic medallist Danielle Brown MBE.

Children were invited to engage with authors during live online book readings and Q and A sessions during the weeklong event, which saw over 5,500 young people take part from Chester and Ellesmere Port to Delamere and Northwich.

Danielle, who is lined up to take part again, says:

“People often talk about losing themselves in a story, but I think that it’s important to find yourself. It’s important to be able to see yourself reflected in the pages of a book, but for far too long disability has been underrepresented and misrepresented.  

“Working with brilliant charities, like Children Today, who prioritise inclusion and help level the playing field for disabled children is the perfect fit. This helps make inclusive content more accessible and drives important conversations.” 

Now Children Today is aiming to expand on the project and bring inclusive stories, featuring disabled and neurodivergent characters and written by authors with first-hand experience of disability, to even more children across Cheshire.

The charity hopes to double donations raised for the project through match funding from the Cheshire West Community Innovation Fund. The crowdfunding campaign is now live and will run until October 15th.

Emma Prescott continues:

“We’re incredibly excited to be building on the success of our previous event and already have some fantastic authors lined up, with more to be confirmed, as well as collaborating with the Cheshire Education Library Service team and Cheshire West libraries to deliver another exciting programme of events.

“To achieve our goal and make this project happen, we need a minimum of 20 backers by the first assessment panel on the 9^th of September. So, if you’re passionate about inspiring young people, reading and creating a more inclusive world for our children, please consider making a donation. As little as just £2 could make a difference and help bring this incredible project to life. Thank you!”

 

To make a donation to Children Today’s ‘Reading for Life’ campaign visit: https://www.spacehive.com/reading-for-life