Published: Friday 24 May 2024
A North Kensington charity that has gifted more than a million new and gently-used books to children and families across the UK has celebrated its fifth birthday.
Kensington and Chelsea councillors joined Children’s Book Project founder Liberty Venn to mark the milestone with a tour of the organisation’s Golborne Road headquarters.
The charity moved to two units next to Trellick Tower at the start of 2023 thanks to two leases from the Council – one a social investment lease and another which is rented.
The unit let on the social investment lease provides free space for the charity to sort books and for storage and recognises the work the charity does in gifting books to children in Kensington and Chelsea.
Cllr Emma Will, Lead Member for Social Investment, said:
“A good book has the power to entertain, educate and inspire children, helping them to develop, expand their horizons and reach their potential.
“The inspirational work of the Children’s Book Project in placing more than a million books into young people’s hands in its first five years is enriching lives across London and the UK.
“We are immensely proud to support the charity and I look forward to seeing it continue to grow from its home at the heart of our community.”
Liberty Venn, Founder of the Children's Book project, said:
"The support we have received from Kensington and Chelsea Council via a social investment lease on our premises under Trellick Tower has been transformational, helping us to grow significantly in terms of who we can reach but also remain connected to our local community.
"It allows us to base ourselves in North Kensington where we began, and in turn to engage with those people that might want to volunteer with us, to donate books or that are simply interested in our work.
"The space is wonderfully airy and vibrant and our volunteers love arriving to find themselves surrounded by books and able to make a real difference during the course of just one day. And of course they love the opportunity to explore along Golborne Road at lunchtime!"
The Children’s Book Project, which is a recipient of a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, sends boxes of books to primary schools across the capital and further afield to allow pupils to choose their own titles. It also donates free books to women’s groups, children’s centres and prisons, and has gifted more than 1.3 million books to date.
What is social investment?
Social investment is how Kensington and Chelsea Council works to get the best possible social value from the goods and services we buy, and the property, parks and housing which we manage on behalf of our residents.
It represents our commitment to maximise social benefit from the Council’s spending, investment and allocation of resources to create a greener, safer and fairer borough.