Donate to support children and publishers from Ukraine
We are raising funds to distribute books for refugee children from Ukraine (and support Ukrainian publishers in the same time).
We want to offer them a moment of normality, warmth, closeness and peace.
Thank you for your support!
*illustration by Sophie Blackall
If you would like to contact us please write to [email protected] and sign up for our newsletter
Subscribe our newsletterDmytro Drozdovsky. Writer and publisher from Ukraine, who support the "Books give refuge" campaign.
About us
The Universal Reading Foundation was established in 2018 and aims to raise the level of reading in Poland.
The Universal Reading Foundation's main goal is to reach out to non-reading families. We involve various professional groups in the promotion of reading, both those involved in education and those not usually associated with the subject of reading.
So far we have managed to engage paediatricians and neonatologists in pro-reading activities. We provide substantive support to teachers and librarians, especially in the context of working with books among children.We initiate contacts between local governments, non-governmental organizations and business, because we believe that cooperation always brings good results.
Read more
Superpower of Books. A Handbook for Promoting Reading
The future of Poland depends on how far we succeed in raising the level of readership together.
We will succeed if we work together towards a common goal.
Superpower of Books. A Handbook for Promoting Reading, is an attempt to define this goal and the paths that can lead to its achievement.
It answers the questions:
- Why disseminate reading?
- How to approach it in order to achieve change on a national scale?
- What are the proven methodologies?
Download the handbook
Kathimerini Greek daily magazine: The persistent publishers of the war 160,000 books were distributed to Ukrainian refugee children
Washington Post: With Russia determined to bomb, starve and freeze the Ukrainian people, their physical needs have grown so extreme that it’s easy to discount the importance of books.
Washington Post: The Universal Reading Foundation has sprung into action to buy and distribute Ukrainian children’s books for the youngest refugees taking shelter in Poland.
The Christian Science Monitor Daily: For Ukrainian refugee children, add another necessity: Books
The Christian Science Monitor Daily: Food, clothing, shelter, and ... books
Publishers Weekly: Polish Literacy Foundation Leads Relief Efforts for Ukrainian Kids
Let’s give books to Ukrainian mothers in Poland!
I was invited to visit Poland in 2019 by Fundacja Powszechnego Czytania (Universal Reading Foundation), which engaged me in a series of lectures and workshops for literacy activists, teachers and pediatricians. I was very impressed by the foundation's remarkable dedication to promoting children’s success in school and later in life through reading. This is even more important for the hundreds of thousands of displaced Ukrainian children who are in Poland today: children witnessing disaster or war need their parents’ special attention, regular daily routines and soothing alternatives to the reality around them. One of the best cures is for parents to read to their children, if only for 10–15 minutes a few times a day. Let’s give books to Ukrainian mothers in Poland!
Barry Zuckerman MD
Professor and Chair Emeritus
Department of Pediatrics
Boston University School of Medicine
Boston Medical Center
Reach Out and Read co-founder
