Thousands of children receive free summer reading and activity book

Utrecht, July 1, 2022 – A fun activity book or an exciting reading book during the summer holidays can be worth its weight in gold for children's reading levels. It stimulates them to playfully engage with language. That is why bol.com is distributing thousands of fun letter packages (“Letterpretpakketten”) to children with fewer opportunities. Bol.com is doing this together with the Jeugdeducatiefonds and Stichting VoorleesExpress, who distribute the packages at primary schools in the Netherlands and to families who do not have the means to purchase one themselves. In this way, bol.com wants to convey the joy of reading to children from an early age. 

"The reading level of children can drop significantly during the summer holidays," says Aicha Fachtala, director of Al Hambra primary school in Utrecht. "We see this happen a lot with children who do not have enough resources and support at home to keep reading. While the importance of good reading skills is invaluable: children explore the world around them, have fun, increase their vocabulary and have access to the other subjects at school. With the Letterpretpakket full of stories and puzzles, a child is unconsciously occupied with language, which helps to keep the reading level up. It is therefore extremely valuable that bol.com is making the packages available to school children." 

More reading during the summer holidays 

Many children who do not or hardly read during the summer holidays, fall back one or two AVI levels in their reading development. With the Letterpretpakketten bol.com bollebozen tries to reduce the learning gap through the summer holidays. Last year, bol.com bollebozen also dedicated itself to the reading skills of children with two activity books during the summer months.  

Annet Scheermeijer, Director of Books at bol.com: "Bol.com started in 1999 as an online bookstore, so books are still the heart of our business and we want to pass on the joy of reading to children from an early age. With our initiative bol.com bollebozen we want to contribute to equal opportunities for children in the Netherlands and Belgium. We do this together with bol.com colleagues, partners and social organizations. We find this very valuable, because reading is not only fun, it is also enormously important for development. By playing with language, children perform better at school and have a better chance of finding the job of their dreams in the future." 

The Letterpretpakketten are also for sale on bol.com. The donation via the Jeugdeducatiefonds and VoorleesExpress is made possible by the 'buy one, we donate one' principle. Whoever buys a suitcase for their own child thus contributes to the donation to children in Dutch primary schools and among families who do not have the means to buy one themselves. 

Equal chances for every child 

Bol.com bollebozen gets the help of VoorleesExpress and the Jeugdeducatiefonds to distribute the Letterpretpakketten among children with less chances. The Jeugdeducatiefonds helps to increase the developmental opportunities of children. Where lack of money is an obstacle to development, primary schools where more than half of the pupils grow up in poverty, can appeal to the Jeugdeducatiefonds. In this way, all children have the opportunity to participate. "Books help improve reading skills, but can also make you look at life differently or secretly dream away. Thanks to the Letterpretpakketten from bol.com bollebozen we can now make this possible for thousands of children who hardly have any books at home," says Hans Spekman, director of the Jeugdeducatiefonds. 

What is in a Letterpretpakket? 

There are suitcases for two age categories, from 4 to 6 years and from 7 to 9 years, with the theme "Adventure". The suitcase contains books, such as Stinkhond in Paris or an Encanto activity book, coloring pencils, a postcard set, a personal passport to color in and boarding passes to go on an adventure.  

About the Jeugdeducatiefonds 

The Jeugdeducatiefonds helps to increase children's chances of development. Where lack of money is an obstacle to development, primary schools where more than half of the pupils grow up in poverty can appeal to the Youth Education Fund. This way, all children have the opportunity to participate. Applications for the Youth Education Fund are made via the primary school, because it is there that the talents and possibilities of the children are best understood. The fund reimburses support such as homework supervision, children's coaching and applications focused on language and reading. 

About Stichting VoorleesExpress 

Stichting VoorleesExpress supports libraries and welfare organizations to implement the VoorleesExpress. Through the VoorleesExpress 6,000 volunteers are deployed annually to work at home with children who have difficulties with language, on language and reading. A volunteer comes along for 20 weeks and shows children and parents how much fun language can be. The VoorleesExpress is committed to ensuring that every child grows up in a stimulating environment rich in language. 

About bol.com bollebozen 

Bollebozen is an initiative of bol.com. We believe that all children deserve equal opportunities, and we like to contribute to that. By communicating and stimulating the pleasure of reading and stories. And also by helping them develop their digital skills. Through a range of initiatives, we are committed to providing every child with a good story with a happy ending.