Reading Friends brings people together to read, share stories, meet new friends and have fun. We use reading – whether books, magazines, newspapers, or anything else – to start everyone chatting.
The Reading Agency has developed the programme with funding from the National Lottery Community Fund. We work in partnership with Literature Wales and Verbal in Northern Ireland to deliver Reading Friends across the UK.
Reading Friends has been co-created with older people and tested for the past year with local project partners. Our groups meet regularly in venues including hospitals, prisons, recovery cafes, libraries, care homes and community centres. Our projects also arrange one-to-one sessions.
We work with volunteers of all ages to build social connections, using reading to spark conversations. Together, we reach some of the most vulnerable members of our society: older people, people with dementia and carers.
Find out more about our work through our newsfeed, by joining our mailing list or following us on Twitter.
