Children's Books Ireland launches Impact Report 2021
Children’s Books Ireland is delighted today to launch its Impact Report 2021.
This report documents the reach of our projects, initiatives and campaigns throughout the year, as we worked to bring the joy of reading to as many children as possible.
2021, a year of change
In 2021, we gifted our greatest ever number of books to young readers, reaching a total of 20,270 thanks to the generous support of our partners. These were delivered to children nationwide; landing in schools, hospitals, homelessness services, Direct Provision centres and Traveller communities throughout the year.
Our efforts to secure a government commitment to stocking school libraries also resulted in a €20 million grant for this purpose in Budget 2022, which is currently being distributed to schools. These books will spark imaginations across the country, updating bookshelves with fresh, diverse stories that reflect the lives of children living in Ireland today.
We continued to look for ways that we could support and showcase the talented children’s authors and illustrators on this island. Guided by their insight, experience and needs, we matched artists with funding opportunities, commissioned artwork, gave out awards and, together with our partners across the literature sector, even set up the Raising Voices fellowship to bring new, underrepresented voices into the sector.
CEO of Children's Books Ireland, Elaina Ryan, said:
At the beginning of 2021, we imagined that the year would bring a return to ‘normal’ after the storm of 2020. That wasn’t the case, but even so, I couldn’t be more proud of all that we achieved. We are so grateful to our funders, sponsors and partners and the Arts Council of Ireland who make our work possible, and to our members and individual donors whose support – in every sense of the word – keeps us going. Thank you.
Support our work
We’re turning 25 this year. That’s 25 years of changing lives by introducing children to the magic of reading.
Everything that you have read about in these pages – every school library launched, every artist event and every book gifted to a child in need – has only been made possible with the support of our donors, trusts, foundations and partners.
If you can, we would love for you to celebrate this milestone with us by joining our wonderful community of donors.
