I remember vividly the day back in 2014 when I was joined by representatives from People’s Postcode Lottery at Blantyre City Library in Malawi to open a Children’s Corner. They had come to see for themselves how access to brand-new books was opening doors for children and communities.  

Together, we spoke with our partners at the Malawi National Library Service and young readers, whose excitement was clear to see.

I knew at the time that it was a special occasion – but I never could have imagined that the meeting would mark the beginning of a journey that would prove transformational.

 A growing book charity  

Now, a decade on we have received £5.5 million of unrestricted funding raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery which we can spend where and when it is needed most — and the impact has been extraordinary. Ten years ago, we provided around half a million books to our partners in 13 countries. Today, it’s 1.3 million books to 194 partners in 23 countries. 

From the very beginning, the People’s Postcode Lottery team has shown such warmth and support for our work – and made it clear that they wanted their support to help us take on the biggest challenges. That trust and encouragement have given us the confidence to think boldly and act bravely. 

Providing books where they’re needed most  

With players’ support we’ve had the confidence to focus on getting books to readers in some of the world’s most difficult places — where war and displacement disrupt lives and learning. We’ve built partnerships in conflict-affected communities from Cameroon to Ukraine – and last year alone, we delivered 400,000 books to those partners.  

When urgent needs have arisen, player funding has helped us move fast. I think back to our expansion into Sierra Leone after the Ebola epidemic for example. I visited in 2016, and meeting with the Sierra Leone Library Board and local education partners, it was clear that communities were eager to rebuild learning opportunities.  

That visit was shortly followed by first donation of books funded by players – and that path-finding donation laid the groundwork for our long-term presence in the country. Since then, we’ve provided more than 560,000 books to readers across Sierra Leone. 

Setting strong foundations  

As our global reach has grown, support from players has also strengthened the foundations of our charity itself. The People’s Postcode Lottery team has always encouraged charities to network, share information and learn from one another – and we have certainly benefitted from those new relationships with our peers.  

It’s allowed us to expand our operations and programmes teams, develop a robust impact measurement strategy and invest in our fundraising so that we can continue to reach readers for years to come.

Today, we are stronger, more confident and more resilient — and we’re looking to the future.  

Providing two million books worldwide  

This year, player funding has helped us move into a new, larger warehouse — a space that will allow us to provide two million books a year to many more partners worldwide by 2030. It’s an exciting milestone, and we hope People’s Postcode Lottery will continue to be a vital part of that story. 

To every player of People’s Postcode Lottery — I join our long-term supporter Neil Pearson in delivering a very simple message: thank you.  

Your support over the past ten years has made an incredible difference, and together, we look forward to many more years of sharing the power of books with the world.