Colleagues from Mears in Dartford recently donated an array of different books to Highfield Road Preschool, all aimed at an early-reading level.
Highfield Road Preschool has been supporting young children at this vital stage of their development for over 40 years. Like many other preschools across the UK, they rely heavily on self-funding and support from the local community.
With this in mind, the Mears team saw the opportunity to make a difference. Customer Success Co-ordinator at Mears, Holly Christian, visited the early years provider to hand-deliver books. She said:
We know how important it is for children in their early years to have opportunities to explore stories and develop their imagination through reading, so we wanted to make this donation to enable local children to read more books.
It was incredibly rewarding to see the excitement on the children’s faces, their enthusiasm and smiles showed just how much small gestures like this can mean.
On the day we visited the pre-school, both children and staff were dressed up as their favourite book characters which made the visit even more special.
Gaynor Oakes, Manager of Highfield Road Preschool, said:
Reading with young children is so important. Thanks to Mears’ donation, we have been able to explore new books and continue to develop the children's love for reading.
According to the National Literacy Trust, parents struggling with the cost-of-living crisis are buying fewer books for their children. However, their research has also found that early experiences of reading have significant influence on children’s feelings about reading as they get older and enables them to learn the necessary skills needed to become successful readers.
Mark Fenton-Smith, Regional Director at Mears said:
As a leading social mobility employer, Mears Group is committed to encouraging growth at all levels, including early years. A quality learning environment from a young age can help children develop skills for life, and we’re proud to have been a small part in supporting Highfield Road Preschool to provide this.
