Reading champions needed for scheme

Wednesday 25th April 2012

Book lovers are getting the chance to share their passion for reading with people who have mental health issues and literacy problems.

City Reads is looking for people to become volunteer reading champions for a new project aiming to bring a love of books to a wider audience.

City Reads, run by Brighton-based development agency Collected Works, is aiming to recruit between eight and 12 volunteers to run six community reading groups as part of its Read To Recovery project.

Volunteers will be working with people with mental health issues who may have problems with literacy or poor access to books.

Successful volunteers will receive training from the development agency and will be supported by experienced reading champions and the City Reads team.

Applicants must be confident and have good communication skills, be happy reading aloud to a group, and be sensitive to people's individual needs.

They must also be prepared to commit to one session per week for the whole project which runs between June and October. Each session will last about two hours with a 30 minute break for refreshments.

The deadline for applications is April 27. To apply visit http://www.cityreads.co.uk.

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