The challenge
Having rebranded the Doorstep Library (see here), a charity which teaches the most disadvantaged children in London to read, we wondered if we could go one step further… and write them their very own story.
What we did
The story of Alex, told looking back from a future changed forever by the help given to him by the Doorstep Library.
The gorgeous, draw-dropping illustrations were done by Pete Reynolds.
The book was designed by Clout Branding.
We all gave our time for free.
The we had a brainwave.
What happened next
The stumbling block was printing costs. Could this fairly modest charity justify spending such a sum, instead of investing it in their work? Tricky.
We set up a crowdfunding campaign. We pulled in favours and contacts. Anyone making a minimum donation of or above £15 would be sent a free book. We even managed to win a spot on the BBC Victoria Derbyshire show.
The campaign generated about £10,000 for the charity, way more than was needed to get the book printed… plus a lot of publicity.
The books are still used to promote the Doorstep Library, which has quadrupled its income, quadrupled its staff, doubled its volunteers and nearly tripled the schemes it runs since we did the rebrand.
Words take you places. You can donate at: https://www.doorsteplibrary.org.uk/.
You can read the book here.