Words by Smiley Team
A new campaign is helping gift books by world-changing authors to working-class young people this Christmas.
Reclaim, is a youth leadership and social change charity, which uses it experience and platform to support and amplify the voices of working class young people. The organisation believes a challenging upbringing should be seen as a strength, not a weakness.
Working-class means different things to different people, but Reclaim views it as being characterised by a few key factors. If you grew up on a low income with limited access to wealth, don’t have many family connections to people with well paid, professional jobs, and find it hard to ‘fit in’ in middle-class spaces, interests and conversations.
(Read more about how Dolly Parton’s library is gifting free books to children)
Despite being some of the worst affected by the coronavirus pandemic, Reclaim’s young people have been more determined than ever in their efforts to end class inequality in the UK.
This Christmas, the charity wants to give them a special gift of hope and inspiration through gifting them with books by changemaking authors – and they need your help.
Their #READclaim reading list has been put together by the young people at Reclaim – and these are books they believe will be important in their growth as activists, campaigners, and human beings.
(Here are seven inspiring children’s books promoting equality)
You can select from the books on the reading list – some of which include: My Name Is Why by Lemn Sissay, You Are a Champion: How to Be the Best You Can Be by Marcus Rashford, Queer, There, and Everywhere: 23 People Who Changed the World by Sarah Prager, and How to Resist: Turn Protest to Power by Matthew Bolton.
Once you've selected a book and made your donation, Reclaim will then buy the books from local independent bookshops using Bookshop.org and get them to young people over Christmas and New Year.
Any additional funds raised through general donations will go to support more working-class young people take part in their changemakers and leadership programmes.
You can find out more, and contribute to the #READclaim campaign on Reclaim's website.
