Calder Valley Books for Change
Thursday, 30 July 2020
Start by reading, empower children, acknowledge and celebrate diversity in our school libraries.
Calder Valley Books for Change (CVBC) is a new fundraising campaign that seeks to raise £6000 to buy a range of diverse and inclusive books for each of the 60 primary schools across the Calder Valley. Inspired by Books for Change Folkestone, who, motivated by the Black Lives Matter movement, raised £3000 in one month.
Calder Valley Books for Change has been started by a local teacher, at Ferney Lee primary school in Todmorden, Ciaira Sturges. And in just two weeks, £720 has been raised through donations and a summer holiday readathon - but there is a way to go to reach that £6000 target!
We are striving to live in a world that is equal, but the uncomfortable truth is that we are not. In order to change our society to one of equality and respect, it is so important that every child gets to read books with characters that represent them, and that all children get the opportunity to read and talk about people's lives and experiences that are different to their own. And we want to make sure our children know the history of struggle, resistance and hard-fought rights.
Calder Valley Books for Change: will provide a wide range of books that feature what is currently under-represented; black main characters, blended families, characters with disabilities and single parents. These books will be fiction as well as factual texts appropriate for Early Years to year 6.
Two of the top CVBC books so far are; 'Errol's Garden' by Gillian Hibbs, for 3 - 5 year olds, an inclusive tale of one small boy's dream for a garden, and 'All the ways to be smart' by Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys, for 7 - 11 years olds, celebrating the talents of every child.
Ciara Sturges told the HebWeb, 'I think that books are the best place to start to have conversations with children. I am absolutely passionate about the power of books to engage and inspire. Sharing the lived experiences of all children through diverse representation in children's literature is vital.'
Ciara only has so much time on her hands and she needs your support to make this change for our valley. You can support the campaign by:
- Donate to this Justgiving fundraising page
- Reaching out to your school community to donate and fundraise.
- Contact us with your ideas, contacts and recommendations, through social media @caldervalleybooksforchange on Facebook and Instagram or via email or via email.