We're thrilled to announce that Chapter One has been awarded a fantastic grant of £56,250 ($75,000) from the Cisco Foundation to enhance our vital reading platform and expand our reach across the UK.

Since 2018, our Online Reading Volunteers Programme has provided one-to-one support to children facing disadvantage, equipping them with the literacy skills and reading confidence to thrive through school and life. Our proprietary online platform connects caring corporate volunteers with young readers aged 5 to 8, facilitating 30-minute weekly reading sessions that spark joy and build confidence. It's an innovative approach that harnesses the power of technology and human connection to bridge the literacy gap - and it works.

Our partnership with the Cisco Foundation

Our partnership with the Cisco Foundation began in 2020-21 and has deepened each year. Cisco volunteers now support children across England and were instrumental in launching our Greater Manchester programme in 2023-24. This grant came about when Cisco volunteers spotted an opportunity with the Cisco Foundation's focus on technology-driven social impact. Amy Moloney, Customer Program Manager, championed us and worked with us to develop our successful application, taking our partnership to an exciting new level.

Scaling up to meet growing need

The proven success of our online model has great potential to transform the volunteer reading support landscape across the UK. By 2027, we want to support 4,500 children - meeting the urgent need for additional reading support in schools nationwide. To achieve this ambitious goal, we need to invest in our platform, ensuring it can support our growth whilst continuing to deliver meaningful, life-changing connections between volunteers and children. That's where this generous grant from the Cisco Foundation comes in.

Investing in our platform

The grant will enable us to enhance our platform in two key ways: further automating our pupil-volunteer matching processes and adding creative elements to our platform that strengthen the bonds between pairings.

These improvements will underpin our growth, enabling us to reach thousands more children who need support whilst helping every child-volunteer relationship be as strong and effective as possible so children can make the best possible progress through their reading sessions, both developing key skills and reading confidence and enjoyment.

Emma Bell, CEO of Chapter One, said: “This investment will help us reach more children at the crucial moment when reading support can make all the difference. Every child we reach gains not just reading skills, but confidence, joy, and opportunities that reading unlocks. With these enhancements, we'll be able to connect more children facing disadvantage with the dedicated volunteers who can make all the difference.”

We were thrilled to award the Special Recognition Award 2024-25 to the Cisco Foundation at our Annual Partner, Volunteer and School Recognition Awards in June 2025 for their support with the grant.

The Cisco team at our Annual Partner, Volunteer and School Recognition Awards in June 2025

"The Cisco Foundation is delighted to support Chapter One through our Regional Solution grant, which helps to strengthen partnerships between our employees and charitable organisations. Amy and our volunteer teams are truly passionate about providing reading support, and we’re pleased that our grant will support Chapter One expand and scale this vital assistance for young people,” said Kathryn Baddeley, Community Relations Leader, Cisco.

Next steps

Planning for the platform enhancements is well underway, ahead of the early tech development work. This partnership with the Cisco Foundation marks an exciting new chapter in our journey to help close the reading gap for good. We're deeply grateful to the Cisco Foundation for believing in our mission and investing in the future of children facing disadvantage across the UK.

About the Cisco Foundation

The Cisco Foundation envisions a world of resilient and empowered communities where everyone can reach their full potential and thrive. Its mission is to collaborate with organisations to create and scale innovative digital solutions that promote a healthy planet and advance the wellbeing and self-reliance of underserved communities globally. Since 1997, it has harnessed the breadth of offerings from Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), the worldwide technology leader helping revolutionize the way organisations connect and protect in the AI era, for strategic guidance, catalytic funding, technology donations and other support.

Discover more about the Cisco Foundation on its website and follow us on X at @Cisco.

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