Scottish Friendly in the community

Supporting reading and literacy in Scotland… and now England!

As a financial services organisation with its roots founded on helping people in communities to support themselves, Scottish Friendly is proud to continue our tradition of community involvement. For over twelve years we have supported reading and literacy to remote and disadvantaged areas in Scotland by sponsoring The Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour, an outreach tour organised by Scottish Book Trust, the independent organisation promoting literacy through reading in Scotland. In 2009 we extended the reach of our programme south of the border with an author touring programme in the North East of England and in 2010 to the South West.

Each year, hundreds of children have enjoyed taking part in the interactive literacy sessions led by touring authors, illustrators and poets.

In a major new development, Scottish Friendly became a major supporter of the 'Meet Our Authors' programme. Launched in March 2011, the programme has been created by Scottish Book Trust and allows children, young people, parents and teachers across not just the UK but the world, to get up close and personal with some of the world's leading children's authors.

The programme consists of:

  • Children's author events broadcast live over the internet, in conjunction with the BBC
  • Quality videos, audio and photos of leading children's authors available on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, in conjunction with Scottish Friendly
  • Competitions for parents to win exclusive prizes related to the work of the UK's finest children's authors, in conjunction with Scottish Friendly

Scottish Friendly has created a Facebook hub for the programme and you can find out more at www.facebook.com/meetourauthors


Left: Jamie Rix, writer of “The Incredible Luck of Alfie Pluck”, on the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour in Argyle, May 2011.
Right: Writer and illustrator James Mayhew in action on 12 May 2011 as part of the Scottish Friendly Meet our Authors programme

For more information on Scottish Book Trust visit www.scottishbooktrust.com.