2016
In January our ‘mothership’ the Kittiwake Trust became a CIO and is now registered charity number 1165318.
In March, Borderline Books Bradford moved to the Bradford Bikery. We are supporting them in developing the project there and would like to ask people in the area who could help as volunteers or who could give classes in creative writing to contact them.
In the meantime we’ve been settling into our much larger space in 5th Avenue Plaza and welcoming back many organisations who have been regular visitors over the past few years.
At the end of the summer term, several local schools gave us GCSE text books and other teaching materials which we are sharing with Book Aid for Africa in Sunderland, local groups supporting refugees and other groups that need them.
We are pleased to report that our contact with HMP Low Newton is flourishing and they have been several times to collect more books to fill the shelves that are now in various locations throughout the prison. This allows people much more access to books than only in the library.
Open Gate, which supports women leaving Low Newton now also has its own small Borderline BookSpace which is refilled regularly.
We are developing more contacts in other prisons as well as building on our other contacts with care homes, womens’ refuges and organisations supporting people who are homeless.
We received huge donations from Bookends in Carlisle and St George’s Church in Cullercoats which are keeping the volunteers busy stamping and sorting.
We are keeping up with last year’s score, having again given away 8,500 books by 1 September.
Thanks to Ridley Commercial for the space.