Bulldogs and Young Academics Team Up to Boost Children's Literacy Through 'Share a Book' Campaign

The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs' Official Childcare Centre Partner and Sleeve Partner, Young Academics Early Learning Centre (YA) has partnered with the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation (ALNF) to launch the 'Share a Book' campaign.

The event has seen communities come together to donate books to those in need, and to take part in interactive literacy activities across YA’s centres, including reading sessions facilitated by Bulldogs players Toby Sexton, Jeral Skelton and Jake Turpin.

The Share a Book campaign involved families, staff, and children at YA donating new and used books to their local centres. The books will be distributed to schools, preschools and community centres in targeted regions across Australia, including Tennant Creek, Palm Island, Groote Eylandt, Kempsey, and Wagga Wagga. The ALNF will use the books to create libraries within these institutions, allowing community members to borrow books freely, and encouraging personal home libraries.

The Share a Book campaign was complemented by various literacy-based activities that took place across YA’s centres. Children dressed as their favourite characters from literature, including Harry Potter, Disney princesses, and superheroes such as Spiderman. They also and participated in storytelling circles with the Bulldogs players, where they shared their favourite books and created their own stories.

Children also took part in arts and crafts sessions related to characters and themes from popular children's books, including Pig the Pug and Wombat Stew. Meanwhile, phonics and word recognition games strengthened foundational reading skills, and interactive literacy workshops led by educators encouraged comprehension and critical thinking.

Western Sydney-based children’s book author Nicky Mee also visited Young Academics’ Greystanes centre to inspire children with her stories, and to lead a workshop about writing and storytelling.

Jenni Gaffney, Director of Operations at Young Academics, said the importance of encouraging reading at a young age cannot be underestimated. "The Grattan Institute[1] recently found a third of Australian children cannot read proficiently. Addressing this issue early is essential, and a great way to engage young children is through their heroes, whether it’s those in the pages of a book, or those on the football field,” she said.

“Parents and educators reading to children is a wonderful way to encourage a future love of reading and in our play-based curriculum, we use books to foster curiosity to further support learning. We hope that the Share a Book campaign fosters a love for books among the children at our centres, and plays a part in extending this vital and enjoyable skill to communities in need.”