Celebrities, authors and illustrators have come together again to support the 1st Burley Brownies bookmark project which is in its tenth year.
At the beginning of the year the girls of 1st Burley Brownies and their leaders write letters to their favourite authors, illustrators and celebrities asking them to doodle a bookmark.
This year the Brownies have received over 400 bookmarks including bookmarks from Axel Sheffler, Jo Brand, Jon Culshaw, Gyles Brandreth, Rebecca Cobb, Julia Donaldson, Ian Rankin, Lenny Henry, Stephen Fry and many more.
In May each year the bookmarks are gathered and auctioned online to raise as much money as possible for Katiyo Primary School in Zimbabwe.
The auction is hosted by jumblebee and members of the public can bid on their favourite bookmarks between 5th and 19th May.
Brownie Leader Sharon Hattersley said:
“Over the years the Brownies have helped to raise over £100,000 for the school including £82,000 from the Bookmark Project. This money has helped to provide electricity for the whole school site, build blocks of toilets, provide desks and benches for all the classrooms, help with agriculture lessons and the introduction of a reading scheme and many other projects. During the last year the children have moved into the three nursery classrooms the school built with funding from the Bookmark Project and we are looking forward to working with the teachers on building a school library that we hope will eventually provide access to books for the whole community.
The funds raised this year will go towards the creation of a school library and other projects. Most children do not own a book of their own and as part of the auction this year we have the option for supporters to sponsor a book for the library. We are very interested in partnering with organisations which can help us fill the library with high quality texts.”
1st Burley Brownies are 26 girls aged 7 to 10 years old and their leaders, we are based in the village of Burley-in-Wharfedale near Ilkley and have supported Katiyo school for over 20 years. The group has exchanged letters and WhatsApp messages with the teachers and children at the school and I have visited the school three times."
Bidding opens 6pm on Tuesday 5th May at www.jumblebee.co.uk/bookmarkproject2026
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