THE WORK WE DO

In the Winchester City area over 8,000 adults struggle with reading

Read Easy Winchester is a volunteer group which provides confidential and free one to one coaching to adults with reading difficulties. Tuition is based on two half hour sessions per week. Readers learn at their own pace and typically it takes 6 to 18 months for them to achieve a level of literacy which will enable them to go on to further learning opportunities and to have increased employment prospects.

Read Easy Winchester was formed in October 2015 and since then has helped more than 50 adults achieve an improved level of literacy.

Initially, the pandemic brought all one to one in person coaching to a stop. Read Easy Winchester quickly developed methods to deliver the one to one coaching on line. Currently just over 60% of our readers are learning on line while the remainder have returned to meeting in person.

THE PRACTICAL DIFFERENCE WE MAKE

Learning to read as an adult is truly life changing. All readers, at whatever stage in the course, show an increase in confidence, self esteem and well-being. One of our "graduate" readers photographed above, reading to her grandson, says " Reading is finally a pleasure and not a nightmare."

HOW WE WOULD USE YOUR DONATIONS

A KMPG Survey in 2009n estimated that "illiteracy cost the public purse up to £64000 per individual over a lifetime". As a volunteer group it cost us £300 on average to teach and adult to read.

We wish to raise donations in the sum of £600 to fund an additional 2 readers through their reading journey with us.

We are grateful to have local author, Claire Fuller, as our patron and were delighted that her fourth novel "Unsettled Ground" was shortlisted for the 2021 Women's Prize for Fiction. One of the main characters in the novel is 51 year old Jeanie, who struggles with reading and writing. Claire is kindly using the promotional events for her novel to also highlight the problems of adult literacy and raise support for Read Easy Winchester