London
 Chapter

About Room to Read Chapters

Room to Read depends on our chapter leaders and chapter members to help us achieve our annual fundraising goal and to represent Room to Read. Our chapters are comprised of groups of individuals who have made a long-term volunteer commitment to promoting Room to Read within their networks and communities. The chapters organize annual fundraising events, introduce us to potential corporate, foundation and individual supporters and act as representatives for Room to Read within their area.

About the 
London
 Chapter

You can support the chapter by coming along to chapter events with your friends, by getting involved in a chapter led fundraising initiative or organising a fundraiser of your own aimed at your network. We aslo have opportunities for Chapter Representatives who volunteer and represent RtR at events.

To find out more come along to a meeting or one of the events listed below and look out for Chapter Members wearing Room to Read badges, who will be delighted to talk to you about ways of getting involved.

To be kept up to date via email please email london@roomtoread.org, join our London Chapter Facebook Fan page or follow @RoomtoRead_Lon

Meet the 
London
 Chapter Leaders

Nina Hind
Nina has been leading the London Chapter since January 2009. She was originally inspired to get involved having read John Wood's book, "Leaving Microsoft to Change the World". Nina was drawn to Room to Read's low overhead structure and the philosophy of encouraging local communities to take ownership and sustain projects.

Mary Smith
Mary has 27 years teaching experience as a Deputy Head teacher in the UK, and internationally in Hong Kong and Singapore. Mary is passionate about the work of Room to Read and wants to involve UK schools in raising awareness and funds to help continue the work. Mary has produced materials specifically aimed at UK schools, to encourage them to adopt Room to Read as their chosen charity.

Mairead King
Mairead has been involved with Room to Read sincee 2009, originally with the Brussels Chapter and as co-leader of the London Chapter since April 2011. A trek to India in 2010, visiting RtR sites and experiencing first hand the Girls’ Education and the Literacy Programs, cemented her enthusiasm and commitment to work as a volunteer for Room to Read. Mairead has worked for the BBC for over ten years

Upcoming Events

Chapter Social - Open to All

Wednesday, 3 July 2013, 6.30 pm - 8.00 pm
Davy's Wine Bar, 20 King Street, Crown Passage, London SW1Y 6QY

Please join Chapter Co-Leader, Mairead King and other chapter members to find out more about the London Chapter, how to get involved and share fundraising ideas.  Please RSVP with your mobile phone number to london@roomtoread.org.
 
Future Chapter Socials are scheduled to take place at 6.30 pm to 8.00 pm on Wednesday 4 September and Wednesday 6 November



VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED! Volunteer Opening Evening
Wednesday 11 September 2013, 7 - 8 pm
Davy's Wine Bar, 20 King Street, Crown Passage, London SW1Y 6QY

Would you like to join our volunteer team to help out at Room to Read fundraising events in London? We require volunteers to help at Room to Read's annual gala on 7 November. If you would like ot join the team please come to an open evening to learn more. Please RSVP to Mairead at london@roomtoread.org. 


London Parks Half Marathon

Sunday 6 October 2013

We are delighted to announce our allocated places for the London Parks Half Maraton are now full but please do come and join us on the day to cheer on our runners and celebrate with us as they cross the finish line!  

If you would be interested in running for Room to Read in the London Parks Half Marathon in 2014 or raising sponsorship for Room to Read through other sporting events please email london@roomtoread.org. 


Event Photos

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Past Events

Charity Ball for Education in Africa, Saturday 6 October 2012
Ray and Mary Smith organised a special evening at the Charing Cross Hotel featuring a West End Musical performance, close up magic, DJ and dancing with all proceeds going to benefit RtR's work in Africa.  

A Celebration of Girls' Education with Erin Ganju,  2 October 2012 
A special evening reception in celebration of Room to Read’s Girls Education Programme. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors Art First and Masala Zone 100% of proceeds from tickets and donations on the night went directly to Room to Read. 

Walking Tour of London, Saturday 1 September 2012
Chapter member, Doron who is a professional  tour guide, led a walking tour around Westminster, taking in the sites and history of the area over the last millennium and including (but not limited to): Buckingham Palace, St.James's Palace, Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament.  A donation to Rtr at the start or the end of the tour was requested. Followoing the success of the tour watch out for future dates!Y

Lil’s Quiz Night, Wednesday 20 June 2012
On Wednesday 20 June Lil’s third annual quiz night took place at the Hurlingham Pub bringing the total raised from the quiz nights to date to over £5000. Thanks to Lil and her husband Fred Ward who was once again fantastic in his role as Quiz Master!

Wine For Books at Vagabond Wines, Thursday 17 November 2011
Our second Wine for Books event saw a great turn out at Vagabond Wines where guests were given cards holding credit to spend on wines by the taster or by the glass, from Vagabond's extensive range of 100 wines.  


Book Swap at Daunt Books Holland Park , Wednesday 12 October 2011
On Wednesdsay 12 October Daunt Books, Holland Park played host to the third Daunt Book Swap which saw a turn out of over 40 people keen to swap books and a recommendations over a glass of wine raising £600, enough to distribute 600 local langue books to children in communities across Africa and Asia.  The next Daunt Book Swap is taking place on 8 December.  

Beers for Books with John Wood, Tuesday 7 June 2011 
London’s first Beers for Books event was organised by Room to Read supporter, Sital Ruparelia at Mint Leaf Restaurant with an introduction about the charity by John Wood, Room to Read Founder and Board Co-Chair.

Lake District Cottage Raffle Draw, Wednesday 1 June 2011
We are delighted to announce that the winning ticket number 0169 belonged to Charlotte Perfect.  Congratulations to Charlotte and a big thank you to Mary and Ray Smith for kindly donating a one week stay in their idyllic rural retreat in the Lake District National Park. 

 

THE BIG BOOK SWAP, Tuesday 29 March 2011

Swap and Donate. Educate! On Tuesday 29 March the London Chapter launch Book Swap, a simple and fun fundraising concept to benefit Room to Read. There were over a dozen events hosted by chapter members in London and beyond ranging from small events hosted at home to larger social Book Swaps in the pub, events in the work place and a Book Swap hosted at Daunt Books, Holland Park.  Collectively we raised over £3,000 which will buy 3,000 local language books for children in communities across Asia and Africa.

UPDATE: As of 14 October 2011 £5,574 has been raised via London Chapter Book Swaps!

If you would like more information about hosting your own Book Swap please click here or email london@roomtoread.org. To keep up to date with other Book Swap events please see our Facebook Fan Page "Room to Read Book Swap".

 

Women's Network Quarterly Business Breakfast, Tuesday 1 March 2011

The London Chapter's Women's Network, founded by Sarah Dyson and Helen Krag continues to go from strength to strength.  Influence Mastery: First Impressions – 5 Essentials to Help Get it Just Right was the latest workshop facilitated and demonstrated how you can manage your first impressions to get better results in your work and your life. There was also a short introduction to Room to Read over coffee and pastries. Our thanks to Ketchum for hosting.

 

Serena's Swishing Evening: Wednesday 23 February 2011
The first Room to Read Swishing event in London proved to be a very fun night! Guests brought items from their wardrobe they no longer wanted to the Pembroke pub in West London.  There was fantastic variety with all sorts of quality items from high street names including accessories. Guests were asked for a donation to the Girls Education program which included entry to the lucky dip. 

 

Indian Summer Drinks, Thursday 9 September 2010 at the Pembroke, SW5
The weather held for drinks on the terrace at the Pembroke and we had a fantastic turn out. The evening raised £1,335. 

Wine Tasting with Peter Lunzer, Thursday 4 March 2010Wine expert, Peter Lunzer of Lunzer Wine Investments led an informative and hugely amusing tasting of four pairs of wines with a price spread of '3 to 1' to see if reasonably prices wines compare favorably to some better known fine wines.  The event was oversold and everyone there had a brilliant time with the after party lasting into the early hours! 

BOOMTUBE: Room to Rock, Sunday 28 February 2010The concert of school bands featuring Circus Audium, Three Times Daily, Double Yellow Line, Ali & The Bandits and Inferno with special guest artists Red Box and Magazine Gap took place at The Phoenix Theatre and was a huge success, raising £24,000. Catherine Nott gave a great presentation on the work of Room to Read. A huge thank you to Dominica and Charles Yang for coming up with such a great concept and organizing such a brilliant event! 

SPACE.NK Pre Christmas Beauty Night, Wednesday 18 November 2009
Our first SPACE.NK evening at Duke of Yorks Square on the Kings Road was a great success, raising £2054 for the Girls Education Program which is enough to fund more than 12 years of scholarships!  Everyone was offered make overs, skin care consultations and the chance to browse with champagne in hand.  How shopping should always be!

Get Involved with the Chapter!

Volunteer with your local chapter: We're thrilled to hear of your interest in getting involved with the chapter! Volunteering with a Room to Read chapter is not only a great way to help further Room to Read's mission, but also to meet new people! Volunteer opportunities include helping to plan events, giving small presentations about Room to Read's work, and introducing Room to Read to new supporters! If you would like to learn more, please update your profile by filling out the Volunteer Form.

 

Organize your own fundraiser or start an online campaign: Whether you’re running a race, encouraging wedding guests to donate in lieu of gifts, hosting a party at your home, or raising money just because you believe in our mission, the personalized fundraising tool will allow you share the Room to Read story with your friends and family through your own web pages and email messages. You can also track the success of your email campaigns and your progress towards your fundraising goal. Check out our Friends Asking Friends section!

 

Chapters

Our chapters raise 1/3 of our budget so more dollars fund our programs.  Help them, help us!

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