Letterbox Club won the prestigious Third Sector Excellence Charity Partnership Award for its work with Fostering Network Northern Ireland, as part of their Fostering Achievement programme.
The presentation was made at a ceremony held at the Lancaster London Hotel on Wednesday 28 September 2011.
Richard Corden, a consultant at Central Lobby Consultants and one of the judges, described Letterbox Club as:
A very simple idea, executed imaginitively and making best use of slender resources.
Representatives from the Letterbox Club team at Booktrust were there to receive the award along with Viv Bird, Booktrust CEO, Liz Canning, Booktrust National Development Manager, Northern Ireland, Rose Griffiths, Letterbox Club founder, Robert Tapsfield, CEO Fostering Network, Kate Lewis, Director, Fostering Network Northern Ireland and Jack Smith, Policy and Research Officer at The Who Cares? Trust.
Booktrust's Head of Targeted Programmes, Marian Keen-Downs, said:
Letterbox Club thrives on partnership working so we are particularly pleased to receive this award.
Speaking of Booktrust’s partnership with Fostering Network, Rose Griffiths, who founded the Letterbox Club, said:
Working together has brought about a great result for children in care across the UK.
Booktrust’s CEO, Viv Bird, added:
Working with Fostering Network in Northern Ireland over several years has paid dividends and added value to a hugely successful programme. These are significant awards demonstrating that Booktrust is an organisation that works well in partnership with others.
Having been shortlisted for the Third Sector Big Impact Award in 2009, this award is further recognition of Letterbox Club as an outstanding programme for looked-after children.
Robert Tapsfield, CEO of the Fostering Network, said:
We are absolutely thrilled that the Letterbox Club project has received this award, and congratulations to our colleagues in Northern Ireland involved in making the scheme such a success.
We know that all too often children in care struggle in school and fall behind their peers in terms of academic achievement. Access to the fun and inspiring materials that the Letterbox Club sends out is helping young fostered children to meet their potential at a key stage in their development.
The Third Sector Excellence Awards recognise excellence across registered charities, not-for-profits, social enterprises and campaigning groups. The Awards are judged by independent experts and aim to reward examples of outstanding campaigns, strategies, projects and performance, backed up by hard evidence of success.
The other nominees in the Charity Partnership Award included: Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, the National Maritime Museum and the Imperial War Museum, National Federation of Women's Institutes and the Prison Reform Trust and Scottish Association for Mental Health, Get Active Community Engagement Projects.
The Third Sector Big Impact Award went to Thames Reach, for London Connections and the Luke FitzHerbert Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded to Kevin Curley, chief executive of Navca (the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action).
Read more about Letterbox Club's Third Sector win here
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