500,000 Sessions Milestone: Meet Denise

This summer, we are proud to celebrate another incredible milestone at Schoolreaders. Thanks to the dedication of our volunteers across the country, we have now delivered 500,000 reading sessions as part of our pledge for the National Year of Reading. That’s half a million moments of precious one-to-one reading time with an adult, which many may sadly not otherwise have access to.

Behind every one of those sessions is a volunteer giving their time to help a child discover the joy of reading. Denise is one of those volunteers.

Denise began volunteering with Schoolreaders in Warwick in 2023 after retiring from a long and varied career in social care. Over 30 years, she worked extensively in the community with people experiencing mental health struggles, learning and physical disabilities, and dementia. Her career also included managing a residential dementia home, working for a major West Midlands charity, and spending more than a decade in hospital management.

Volunteering has always been an important part of Denise’s life. Over the years, she has supported adult reading schemes, run a carers group at a dementia café, and served as a trustee for MIND for six years. An avid reader herself, Denise has always understood the importance of reading in building confidence, vocabulary and imagination.

“I could read before I started school,” she says. “When I was five, I used to read to the class.”

For Denise, volunteering with Schoolreaders felt like a natural way to continue supporting others after retirement. She is passionate about ensuring all children have the opportunity to develop a love of reading, especially those who may not have access to reading support at home.

“Lots of children, sadly, have no incentive to read at home,” she explains. “Nothing to fire their imagination or develop their confidence or skills. A volunteer with age, maturity and time can be a huge help to them.”

Denise now spends her time reading regularly with some of the school’s youngest pupils, helping them build confidence and enjoy reading in a calm and supportive environment. Her kindness and patience have made a lasting impression on the children she supports.

One child shared: “Reading with Denise is nice because she keeps trying to help me.”

Another said they find reading with Denise “good and calming”.

Denise’s impact on the school community has been so significant that she was recently nominated for Schoolreaders Volunteer of the Year. Staff praised the warmth and positivity she brings to the school, describing her as inclusive, thoughtful and dedicated to helping every child feel valued and supported, including children with additional needs.

The nomination also highlighted how Denise regularly goes above and beyond her volunteering role, whether supporting school trips or bringing in small end-of-term treats that brighten everyone’s day.

The children themselves spoke warmly about how much they enjoy reading with her. They described Denise as “kind and helpful” and said she makes reading fun and encouraging.

Like so many Schoolreaders volunteers, Denise feels the experience is rewarding for her too. Building relationships with the children and seeing their confidence grow week by week is what makes volunteering so meaningful.

Reading is vital because it opens doors to learning, creativity and opportunity. Every session delivered by our volunteers helps children build skills that can shape their future.

Reaching 500,000 reading sessions is a wonderful milestone, but we know there is still so much more to do.

Our goal remains to deliver 1.5 million reading sessions in 2026, supporting even more children to develop reading confidence and a lifelong love of books.

As we celebrate this half a million milestone, we would like to thank Denise and every Schoolreaders volunteer for the time, care and encouragement they give to children each week. Together, they are helping to change children’s life stories, one reading session at a time.

Find out more and view the live counter at: https://www.schoolreaders.org/national-year-of-reading