Celebrities and authors have come together to doodled, drawn or paint bookmarks for the 1st Burley Brownies bookmark project which is in its seventh year.
At the beginning of the year the girls and their leaders write letters to their favourite authors, illustrators and celebrities asking them to doodle a bookmark for our project.
In May each year the bookmarks are gathered and auctioned online to raise as much money as possible for Katiyo Primary School in Zimbabwe. The auction is hosted by jumblebee and members of the public can bid on their favourite bookmarks between 8th and 22nd May.
This year the Brownies have received over 400 bookmarks including bookmarks from Jacqueline Wilson, Julia Donaldson, Axel Sheffler, Jo Brand, Dawn French, Sir David Attenborough, Sir David Jason, Julian Clary and many more.
The Bookmark Project is now in its seventh year and all the money raised is used to support Katiyo Primary School in Zimbabwe. All the bookmarks received will be sold by auction, between 8th-22nd May and members of the public can bid on their favourite bookmarks.
Brownie Leader Sharon Hattersley said: “Over the years the Brownies have helped to raise over £40,000 for the school. This money has helped to build blocks of toilets, provide desks and benches for all the classrooms, bought reading books and supported a number of other projects.”
In its first six years the Bookmark Project has raised £25,000 to help support projects at Katiyo Primary School including the purchase of a reading scheme, building two new blocks of toilets, purchasing textbooks, water tanks as well as providing electricity.
This year funds raised will go towards building and equipping a nursery classroom for the youngest children at the school who currently have nowhere to hold their lessons.
1st Burley Brownies are 25 girls aged 7 to 10 years old and their leaders, the unit celebrated its 100th birthday in 2019, we are based in the village of Burley-in-Wharfedale near Ilkley and have supported Katiyo school for over 20 years. The group has exchanged letters and WhatsApp messages with the teachers and children at the school and I have visited the school twice.
The auction opens at 6pm on Monday 8th May and runs until 7pm on Monday 22nd May at www.jumblebee.co.uk/bookmarkproject2023