AN EVENT organised to celebrate the success of a charity that helps adults learn to read proved to be an inspiration.
The celebration evening, hosted by Read Easy Basingstoke, was attended by a number of its readers and their families and coaches.
They had an enjoyable couple of hours of snacking and chatting.
Listening to the stories of some readers was inspiring, as was the praise they had for their coaches.
READ MORE: The incredible story of how a Basingstoke mum, 37, learned to read during the pandemic
Robert, one of the students at Read Easy, described his coach Mike as “the best teacher in the world”.
Robert has made huge progress with his reading and his family is proud of his achievement.
Another student Lin, who attended the event with her husband Brian, had to re-learn how to read following a stroke.
She graduated from the reading scheme this year under her coach Claire.
Lin’s husband Brian sent a lovely message: “Many thanks for your team effort that has made a life-changing improvement to Lin’s reading skills and widened her confidence in so many other areas.
“We are particularly grateful to Claire, who I’m sure you are aware is an excellent tutor and an asset to the team.”
Read Easy Basingstoke is part of Read Easy UK, a national charity founded in 2010 which provides free, confidential one-to-one reading coaching for adults from trained volunteers, through locally-run, affiliated volunteer groups.
The Basingstoke branch, which was launched in 2019, has grown rapidly in the past year.
The group said 20 new readers have come forward to coach 40 adults.
They have also trained 25 volunteer coaches.
Read Easy Basingstoke currently have 25 active pairs of readers and coaches working together.
SEE ALSO: Councillors raise concerns as Hampshire County Council set to make parking changes
The charity always has a bank of trained coaches ready who have recently undertaken the training so that they can be paired up with new readers as soon as they contact them.
According to the charity, at least 7,000 people in Basingstoke struggle with reading.
Read Easy Basingstoke deputy chairperson Lindy O’Callaghan said: “We know that there is such a huge need out there and so do please contact us if you know of anybody who struggles with reading who would benefit from our help, or if you would like to become a volunteer coach.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here