Sara Hunton, founder of Sara’s Story Store, has helped more than 20 schools raise over £12,000 for books in her first year of using SuperKind for their ‘Ready Steady Read’ initiative.
She shares how the model has made fundraising easier while encouraging children to read and support other communities.
What drew you to SuperKind?
Before SuperKind, I had created my own online fundraising system for schools. I spent a huge amount of time setting up individual pages and spreadsheets to record donations, pupil names, year groups and prize levels.
It worked, but it still required a lot of manual administration. As more schools began taking part, I needed a simpler and more manageable way to run multiple campaigns.
When I first heard about SuperKind, I was naturally cautious because I already had a system in place. I arranged a call with Keren, asked lots of questions and compared it carefully with what I was already using.
By the end of the conversation, I could see how much easier it could make the process. I trialled it with one school first and, because it was so straightforward immediately introduced it all of my ‘Ready Steady Read’ campaigns.
Tell us more about the sponsored reading challenge. Why does it work so well?
I previously worked as a primary school teacher, so encouraging children to read has always been at the heart of my business in partnership with Usborne
My mentor first introduced me to Ready Steady Read as a way of supporting schools around World Book Day without needing to be physically present at every event. Because schools run the challenge themselves, I can support several schools at the same time.
World Book Day creates a brilliant sense of excitement around books, stories and characters. The sponsored read builds on that by encouraging children to spend meaningful time reading over several days or weeks.
There can be certificates, prizes and class challenges, which children love, but I like to celebrate reading and effort as well as money raised.
I provide the resources and guidance, the school runs the challenge, families donate through SuperKind, and afterwards I help the school choose and order its books. Once schools have experienced it, they come back year on year. They love it!
How has SuperKind made the fundraising easier?
Every school has its own online fundraising page, which they can share easily with families and the wider community. Parents can donate digitally, and I can see how each campaign is progressing without having to manage the entire system myself.
It keeps everything much more organised and reduces the time spent handling payments, working through spreadsheets and calculating totals.
It also gives schools and families a clear, professional fundraising experience. Everything is in one place, and the process is simple for schools to understand and communicate.
For me, it means I can spend more time supporting teachers, celebrating the children’s achievements and helping schools choose brilliant books.
SuperKind has made it possible for me to support more schools without making the administration unmanageable.
What impact have the campaigns had?
More than 20 schools have now taken part, raising over £12,000 between them.
Schools are often amazed by how much their communities raise and how many books they can receive as a result. Many return year after year because the challenge is easy to repeat, children enjoy it and the benefits are very visible.
However, the impact goes much further than the fundraising total. Children are motivated to read, families get involved and the whole school works towards a shared goal.
Some schools that have participated for several years have already developed fantastic book collections. They still choose to run the challenge because their pupils love taking part, but they gift the books they earn to another school. The pupils can see that their reading is not only helping their own school but also giving other children the opportunity to enjoy books.
What would you say to another Independent Usborne Partner considering SuperKind?
I would encourage them to try it.
Every Independent Usborne Partner has their own way of working with schools, and SuperKind can complement the brilliant support they already provide by making the fundraising side simpler and easier to manage.
It is straightforward to use, families appreciate being able to donate online, and it allows Partners to manage several school campaigns while continuing to give each school a personal service.
I was hesitant to change at first because I already had a system that worked, but I was quickly sold and I wouldn’t look back!