East of England Co-op support for Storybook Dads

A service which allows prisoners to read stories to their children has been given a funding boost by the East of England Co-op.

The Storybook Dads project is run by Ormiston Families in the prisons we work in across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.

Storybook Dads sees recordings created of dads reading a book which is then sent to their child, helping the child to know that they are loved and missed.

On Wednesday, August 7, Angela Carpenter, East of England Co-op community support manager, visited HMP Norwich’s visitor centre to hand over a cheque for £2,240 to support the project. The money will help pay for an accompanying book to be sent with every recording.

Angela said: “We’re incredibly proud to support Storybook Dads through our East of England Co-op Community Cares Fund.

“It’s a very special project which not only benefits the families involved but also has the ability to have a long lasting, positive impact on the wider community by reducing reoffending.

“Our Community Cares Fund was founded in April 2020, and since then has supported more than 200 charities, community groups and services, directly benefitting over 138,000 local people. The fund is boosted each year thanks to generation donations from our members, helping us to continue to support important projects like this.”

Vicky Matthews, senior corporate partnerships manager for Ormiston Families, said the funding would make a lasting impact.

“We are so grateful to the East of England Co-op for this money,” she said.

“It will go towards helping children who are going through a very difficult and traumatic time feel closer to their dads and that is such a powerful thing.

“We know that the bond between a prisoner and their child is crucial in cutting down the chance of reoffending and East of England Co-op are playing their part in making our communities stronger by providing this funding.”