Northern Ireland
The Letterbox Club in Northern Ireland is funded by Fostering Network Northern Ireland as part of its Fostering Achievement programme, in partnership with the Northern Ireland Government.
Latest news from Letterbox Club in Northern Ireland
The partnership with the Fostering Network Northern Ireland continued into 2010 and 2011 and in September 2011, Letterbox Club and Fostering Network Northern Ireland won the prestigious Third Sector Excellence Charity Partnership Award.
In February 2012, the Northern Ireland Government announced funding for Fostering Achievement for a further five years, so children in Northern Ireland will continue to receive parcels up to and including 2016.
There were 172 children enrolled to receive Letterbox Club parcels in 2012.
In October 2010, an evaluation report focusing on the impact of the 2009 pilot was published and in April 2011, Queen's University in Belfast published its own independent report on the effectiveness of the Letterbox Club. Both found that the programme was having a positive impact on the literacy and numeracy of looked-after children who had received Letterbox Club parcels.
Kate Lewis, director of the Fostering Network Northern Ireland, said:
We are delighted to be able to work with Booktrust to give fostered children this chance to boost their reading and writing skills. Too often they fall behind at school and don't have the access they need to extra support and opportunities. This scheme goes some way to giving them the same chances as other children when it comes to reading and writing.
Letterbox Club's Northern Ireland patron, author Malachy Doyle (pictured), is proud to be involved in the programme:
I'm delighted to be a patron of the Letterbox Club in Northern Ireland. I've seen for myself the excitement the children get on receiving their parcels. We've met up on Fostering Achievement Fun Days in Belfast and Omagh, where I've had great fun chatting to them, reading them my stories and even dancing with them. The Letterbox Club is doing fantastic work and I hope it goes from strength to strength.
View a short film about Letterbox Club in Northern Ireland:
