Virgil van Dijk, the center back for Liverpool, and Ollie Watkins, the top goal scorer for Aston Villa, among other footballing heroes, organized a series of Fun Football and Happy Readers events across the UK during the Easter holidays. Every event featured customized Fun Football coaching sessions for kids from the neighborhood, followed by a read-along of a Little People BIG DREAMS book from the Happy Readers library.
The football legends assisted in distributing thousands of books and footballs to visiting families at each location throughout the day in addition to donating an additional 5,000 books to the local charities they had chosen, which included Skylarks in Birmingham, Displaced People in Action in Cardiff, and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.
The exclusive events served to promote both McDonald’s ongoing efforts to support families and communities in the UK and Ireland—which include the distribution of over 10 million books through the Happy Readers program and the provision of over 2 million hours of free Fun Football sessions annually—as well as the advantages that reading and physical activity have on children’s development.
Virgil van Dijk said, “Liverpool is a special place, and I love being able to give back to the community that supports us so passionately.” Like McDonald’s, I genuinely believe that all kids should be able to play and learn. I’m here today because my family and I are really enthusiastic about this topic.
“McDonald’s is helping families by giving them more opportunities to receive free books and free Fun Football coaching. We gave out about three thousand books to children today alone, and from what I saw in the reading area and on the field, we may have some future football players and authors on our hands.
“Our goal is to make sure every child, regardless of background or situation, can enjoy reading and football,” said Michelle Graham-Clare, Chief Marketing Officer for McDonald’s UK and Ireland. In 2023, Happy Readers and Fun Football—two of our most important projects—will make their joint debut. Our mission is to unite children with diverse interests and show them that they can enjoy reading and sports together. It is imperative that families have unrestricted access to both, and we are committed to making this happen. We intend to provide communities throughout the UK with more exciting Happy Readers and Fun Football activities this year.
“We’re thrilled to see McDonald’s combining football and books for this amazing series of events,” said Jonathan Douglas CBE, Chief Executive of the National Literacy Trust. The National Literacy Trust is aware of how powerful a sports passion can be in encouraging and motivating a youngster to improve their literacy. This new study shows that reading and physical activity don’t have to go hand in hand for a child’s growth and happiness. It’s encouraging to see inspirational athletes stress the benefits of reading while working out.
