Last season, Fulham FC Foundation began working in partnership with The Children's Book Project, supporting them in their mission of gifting 350,000 surplus new and pre-loved books to children who have very few of their own.
As part of our annual celebration of World Book Day on March 6th, we asked fans to support our cause and to donate books at our home fixture against Tottenham on Saturday 16th March, and you delivered.
To date, the Fulham Family have collected over 800 books that have been re-distributed to local primary schools in Hammersmith & Fulham, including one of Fulham FC Foundation’s partner schools, Melcombe Primary.
Regular visitors to the school, Issa Diop and Kenny Tete, helped launch the pop-up book shop back in May, when every child had the chance to choose and take home two books of their own. From Minecraft to The Lionesses, there was a variety of books to choose from that ignited every child’s imagination. Issa and Kenny further supported the drive by donating signed matchday programmes that were very well received.
“We were delighted that the Fulham FC Foundation invited Melcome to be part of The Children's Book Project. Our children at Melcombe are taken to the library regularly to choose their own books for pleasure but it is very different from taking home a book you can keep!
“There was even more excitement when the children found out that Issa Diop and Kenny Tete were coming and that they could talk to them both about the books they had chosen. We are all very grateful for both Fulham FC Foundation and The Children's Book Project for their time and donations, and supporting us to promote the love of reading.” - Lindy Woodcock, Head of School, Melcombe Primary School
“Partnering with the Children’s Book Project as a football club might surprise a few people - however, many of our aims across both organisations are shared. We are in the unique position where we can use Premier League footballers to inspire young people to help improve many different elements of their lives. Linking this to reading as a vital life skill and partnering with CBP allows us to help support hundreds of children who don’t have their own books to now read at home and ultimately improve their relationship with reading.” - Kayleigh Bowers, Primary Education Manager, Fulham FC Foundation
If you have pre-loved books at home and would like to support the project you can find your nearest book drop via the button below.
