Over the last three years, The DHL UK Foundation has partnered with Bookmark Reading Charity (Bookmark) to support children across the UK with their literacy. Our partnership has enabled Bookmark to grow and strengthen their work with primary schools in underserved areas across the country, helping ignite the joy of reading for thousands of children.

Bookmark’s One-to-one Reading Programme demonstrates the power of volunteering, giving a child extra support to improve their reading skills and develop confidence. Since our partnership began, 71 incredible DHL employees have collectively delivered over 1,350 online reading sessions, supporting 129 children. These volunteers utilised Bookmark’s extensive online resources, from books to literacy games, and could see the tangible difference they were making.  One DHL volunteer, Jessica Rydings, said: “The Bookmark One-to-one Reading Programme has been incredibly rewarding, enabling me to inspire young readers and support them on their journey to loving books”.

Bookmark’s strong commitment to monitoring and evaluating their impact is evident, and we are delighted to see how their work is making a real difference . In 2024/25, of the 2,242 children supported by at least one reading session, they found:

• 94% either maintained or improved their performance against expected reading standards
• 96% were perceived by their teachers as having increased their reading confidence.
• 95% were perceived by their teachers as having increased their reading enjoyment.

We look forward to seeing Bookmark continue their success and support even more children to develop literacy skills and discover the joy of reading.

Emily Jack, Chief Executive Officer of Bookmark Reading Charity shares:

“We couldn’t be more grateful to the DHL UK Foundation and DHL employees for your support over the last three years of partnership. Thanks to your support, we have been able to reach even more children on the One-to-one Reading Programme so they have the reading skills and confidence to succeed in school and beyond.

I would like to also say a heartfelt thank you to each and every DHL employee that has given their time to directly support a child with their reading. Your impact will last a lifetime for those children – thank you.”

You can read more about Bookmark Reading Charity and their work here: https://www.bookmarkreading.org/