A Staffordshire book club is striving to raise funds to help provide the gift of reading to local young people this Christmas.

Known as 'Just another book club', the group formed during the Covid pandemic to bring like-minded ladies together for monthly meetings where they not only review books but make new friends too.

Now, more than three years later, the group wants to give something back to Stoke-on-Trent and its surrounding areas, through fundraising to buy children new books to receive as gifts this Christmas.

By working with three local charities, these books will be distributed to children who may otherwise not have access to reading material beyond school, explained the founder of the group, Rebecca Winfield.

Rebecca said: "We've launched this initiative, known as Literacy for Life, in recognition that one in five children and young people aged 5-18 don't have a book of their own at home. We want to change that for our community."

To fundraise, the group - which meets in Tean - is organising a range of events including a wreath making workshop and clothing swap event. It's also approaching local businesses to garner support.

Rebecca added: "The aim is to raise enough funds to buy what equates to 1000 books. These will be of varying reading ages, including teen fiction, because we want to unlock literacy for all

"Every donation, no matter how small, will help us to achieve our goal and make a difference. For those children whose parents might be using foodbanks during the festive period, receiving a present to open on Christmas day will mean a lot.

"However, it's more than just a book – it's an outlet for imagination and creative thinking."

To distribute the books to the children, Literacy for Life is working with Stoke Toy Appeal, Alice Charity and Step-Up Stoke CIC. All of the books will be individually wrapped with a label stating the reading age.

So far, Literacy for Life has received donations from Fenton Glass & Glazing, as well as local individuals who have been keen contribute to the cause. However, according to Rebecca, there's still much work to be done.

To find out more and ways to donate, visit the Literacy for Life Facebook page here.