Burberry partners with Marcus Rashford MBE to help develop children's literacy skills

Burberry has announced its collaboration with footballer and youth advocate Marcus Rashford MBE to help disadvantaged children develop literacy skills.

The luxury brand is providing funding to help transform school libraries and is donating books to ensure children have access to safe environments and resources to develop their potential.

Aiming to positively impact the lives of over 3,500 children, Burberry will provide funding for the transformation of library spaces in 10 schools most in need across Manchester, Yorkshire and London.

All 10 schools will take part in the Marcus Rashford Book Club, created by Rashford and Macmillan Children’s Books. The schools will also receive a donation of 8,000 books and training will be provided to over 200 teachers across the UK by the National Literacy Trust.

Pam Batty, VP of Corporate Responsibility at Burberry, said: "These organisations play a pivotal role in helping those most in need access key resources. We are proud to partner with them and Marcus Rashford MBE, a passionate advocate for enabling vulnerable youth to discover the joy of reading, to help ensure young students around the world get better opportunities to create, develop and grow."

Credit: Campbell Addy

Rashford has worked to support vulnerable children and tackle child food poverty since his first campaign in 2020. The Manchester United footballer has since received a plethora of awards for this work. In October 2020, he was appointed MBE in the Queen’ s Birthday Honours.

Speaking about the partnership, Marcus Rashford MBE, said: "Far too many children do not currently have access to books, typically because of financial restraints. There is a need to inspire them and allow them to see beyond the challenges they face daily. These children need the escapism of reading more than most and access to books should not be restricted by the area you grow up in.

"I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved here, building upon the work of the Marcus Rashford Book Club and I hope children will feel the benefit of these spaces for years to come. This has been a really rewarding process and I’m thankful to Burberry for continuing to stand with me on this journey to better underserved communities and offer real opportunity."

Burberry also plans to support organisations in the United States and Asia to create new libraries and provide books to underserved communities.