ONE hundred new books have been donated to an Oxfordshire reading charity.

Housebuilder Mulberry Homes has donated £1,000 to Assisted Reading for Children (ARCh), which will be used to purchase new books for school children to enjoy.

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ARCh is a charity unique to the county which reaches out to primary school children living in poverty and, with professionally-trained mentors, helps to support their literacy and communications skills.

With many ARCh volunteers now returning to primary schools and working within the ARCh Covid-19 guidelines, the charity is having to provide duplicate books for each of its 300 volunteers instead of sharing copies, which is taking up a lot of time and finances.

Mulberry Homes’ donation will be used to fund two copies of 50 different books for volunteers to keep as their own and take with them into schools.

The donation comes as part of the housebuilder’s 10-year anniversary campaign, in which it has committed to donating a total of £10,000 to charities and organisations local to its developments throughout 2021, with ARCh operating nearby to Mulberry Homes’ newly launched Launton Mews development in Launton, near Bicester.