The Literacy Pirates Reading Progamme

Axis have previously supported the charity through the Axis Foundation by donating £5,000 to their volunteering programme

Lacking vital literacy skills holds a person back at every stage of their life. As a child It might mean falling behind school, as a young adult you may be excluded from the job market, and as a parent, you might struggle to support your own child’s learning. This intergenerational cycle makes social mobility and a fairer society more difficult.

The Literacy Pirates is a charity that works with children aged 9-12 whose teachers think they would benefit from some extra help. Their learning programmes give the children a chance to share their ideas and write creatively, and then publish their written work in high-quality books, films, and audio projects. Each term they celebrate their hard work at events for friends and family!

Axis have previously supported the charity through the Axis Foundation by donating £5,000 to their volunteering programme benefiting up to 300 children. With the help of the Literacy Pirates, children’s reading age improves over 50% faster than age-related expectations.

Our partnership with the Literacy Pirates has recently developed, with a number of employees joining their ‘Virtual Ship’ and volunteering to support children with their reading and writing at their after-school sessions.

I decided to volunteer for The Literacy Pirates as now, more than ever, young people need our support in reading and writing after such a disruptive school year. The volunteering is flexible, so I try to volunteer virtually via Teams for 2 hours every 2 weeks. Reading and writing together with young people in the sessions is always surprising and inspiring. It is a pleasant reminder of how imaginative young minds are, and the perfect opportunity to switch off from day to day work and make a real difference to young people’s lives. I would thoroughly recommend it! – Kellie Durey, Community Investment Manager