The Great British Book Drive - Children's Book Project launches on 7th October

Maidstone Leisure Centre has announced a link-up with national charity the Children’s Book Project, which will see books collected on site and distributed to underprivileged children across the country.

Book ownership has been directly linked with improved mental health, while reading fluency itself has a significant impact on children’s successful progression through education. The Children’s Book Project is looking to tackle ‘book poverty’, giving every child the opportunity to own their own books.

We are asking local people with good quality children’s books to drop them off in centre. We have a dedicated collection box for customers to use where these books will be collected and distributed locally and nationally for children to enjoy. 

Running between 7th October – 31st October inclusive, Maidstone Leisure Centre are looking to donate any good condition children’s books to young people living in challenging circumstances.

We’re looking for story books for babies and children aged 0-13 years so could we please ask for no academic books or religious text as these would not be taken.

Kirstin Knell from the Children’s Book Project told us: “We are over the moon to be supported by Maidstone Leisure Centre, whose centre provide such an important way for the local community to get together.  Every book donated by families will be gifted on by our volunteers to children with few of their own.  We’re so looking forward to seeing the results of everyone’s sort of their bookshelves and sharing the very real impact these books have had.”