Liverpool’s ‘Drop Everything and Read’ supporting emotional wellbeing

On World Book Day 5th March schools across the city will be dropping everything and reading at 10 am to showcase the importance of reading for enjoyment. This Drop Everything and Read session is part of the Liverpool Readathon, a citywide sponsored read with the aim of encouraging children to read for pleasure and to raise money that will fund books and storytellers in Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. The Liverpool Readathon is organised by Liverpool Learning Partnership, who work with schools across the city to prioritise the needs of learners and Read For Good, who have been running their school Readathons since the 1980s.

Elaine Rees, CEO Liverpool Learning Partnership said: “We’re now encouraging businesses and organisations to join the schools in taking part in our Drop Everything and Read session. Encouraging staff/clients to take time out to read for 10 minutes shows a commitment to both literacy for life and emotional wellbeing!”

Studies have shown that reading for as little as six minutes can reduce stress by around 60%. They also found it’s more effective at reducing stress than taking a walk or even having a cup of tea. Reading doesn’t have to be ‘worthy’ to help reduce stress. It could be anything that you choose to read- fiction, non-fiction, the newspaper, a blog post, a recipe book. LLP has put together an information brochure for staff/clients/customers (click the link to read) >

Liverpool Readathon for organisations (1)

Elaine continues: “We’d love a whole range of organisations, businesses and cultural venues to take part in our Drop Everything and Read session! If you are busy at 10 am, choose a time that suits you. Liverpool schools will be running the Readathon for a fortnight from 2-13 March so feel free to set your DEAR session for another time during this period.

“If you’d like to hold a reading themed event at your workplace during the Readathon (2-13 March), please let us know. We’d love to see how we can support you with this. You can also share your reading-related activity on social media using the hashtags #dearliverpool, #liverpoolreadathon and #liverpoolreads.”

To make a donation to support the work of Read For Good, the charity behind the bookshelf and storyteller programme in Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, visit > www.readforgood.org/dearliverpool