Monthly book delivery and digital book club gifts another 62 books to Ronald McDonald House in Glasgow.
Headquartered in Scotland, Rare Birds Book Club has announced a second partnership with Ronald McDonald House in Glasgow, donating over 60 books to celebrate World Book Day and offer a little escape to residents after a tumultuous year.
Having originally gifted 82 Rare Birds’ favourites back in the summer of 2020, the home of women’s fiction wanted to continue supporting the charity, sharing a further 42 children’s books and 20 adult reads to add to the ever-growing library.
With reading being the top of the list for many during lockdown, Rare Birds was keen to provide something proven to lower stress and boost wellbeing, especially on the most important day of the literary calendar.
Families staying in the House during the last donation inspired this second delivery, having divulged how reading helped them during some of their most difficult times:
I find books really calming, so when I saw a book at my bedside that wee comfort blanket just made me burst into tears. It made me think that these people just knew me and what I needed to help me get through this time in hospital. That wee touch made me feel so welcome and settled me in during an incredibly difficult time.
I’m quite a homebody, I’m not great with change and like the rest of the family was incredibly anxious about the operation our wee boy was facing. We were away from home and all our support like my mum and sister, all during COVID 19 – my anxiety levels were sky high. I read the picture books to the kids when trying to get them to sleep at night or off for a nap and I think it actually helped me more than them! Soothing stories that calmed the kids and helped me be that little bit less anxious.
My routine after leaving my baby in the ward at night was dinner, shower and tucked up in bed with a book. This sense of routine helped me settle and feel more in control of myself even with everything we were facing at hospital, especially during the pandemic.
Ronald McDonald House Glasgow is an independent Scottish charity providing a safe, welcoming and cost-free home-from-home for families of children who are being treated in nearby hospitals, was chosen for the donation of books to offer a moment of respite for those in residence. 31 ensuite bedrooms hosted 504 families in 2019, gifting over 11,000 nights to those in need; families often arrive under emergency circumstances with only the clothes on their backs and can be miles away from their support network.
