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The Herefordshire Reading Trust CIC

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The Herefordshire Reading Trust CIC

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The Herefordshire Reading Trust will provide an accessible and inclusive safe space for our local community.

Improving child and adult literacy rates in a community offers significant benefits to each person, and therefore improves the economic, health and social mobility of any community. From this space we will aim to deliver specialist events to help children who are struggling with their reading journey due to dyslexia. When a child with dyslexia receives appropriate help, they can typically experience significant improvement in their reading abilities, increased confidence in their learning, and a better overall academic experience. We will aim to support children with their mental health. Books that acknowledge or explore mental health issues can help to increase awareness, encourage dialogue, reduce stigma and develop real understanding. We aim to support the neurodiverse community by running specific Manga events. Manga can be beneficial for neurodiverse children by providing a way to relate to characters who might share similar experiences, offering visual cues that can be easier to process than text alone, and allowing them to explore complex emotions and social situations through relatable storylines, potentially fostering a sense of understanding and belonging. We aim to help parents to support their children’s reading journey by offering the appropriate advice and guidance. We aim to help schools deliver the curriculum with books. Carefully selecting the right books for schools aligned with curriculum objectives. We will provide teacher training on using books effectively. We would like to provide all children in our county with free books.

29/10/2026

A huge thank you from all of us at The Herefordshire Reading Trust CIC to the learners and team at National Star in Hereford! 🎃📚

They’ve been busy turning old book pages into wonderful Halloween decorations for our community space upstairs at The Children’s Bookshelf, home to the Fidget Factory, Reading Trust bookshop and Adopt a Teddy station. 💚

Their handmade paper chains and spooky ghosts are now proudly on display, and we’ve included a photo so you can see their creations in place!

Thank you for sharing your time, creativity and enthusiasm with us and helping us get our new space ready for opening week.

Pop upstairs and admire their handiwork when you visit! 👻

29/10/2026

💙 LOOK AT THE FIDGET FACTORY TODAY! 💙

Seeing children enjoying our new upstairs space has been such a lovely part of our first week! And how brilliant do our little visitors look modelling our brand new Fidget Factory aprons? Thank you for trying them out for us! 🌟🥰

From all of us at The Herefordshire Reading Trust CIC, a HUGE thank you to everyone who has visited and supported us, and for bearing with us while we find our feet.

To every volunteer and everyone who has helped in any way, thank you. From painting and cleaning to sorting books, decorating, donating and welcoming visitors, your kindness has helped us get our doors open. 💙

Our space is still very much a basic shell. As we secure grants and funding, we’ll develop it further, creating more opportunities for local children and families to enjoy books, reading and community activities. 📚

🎃➡️🎄 Upstairs will be CLOSED next week, Monday to Friday, while we change from Halloween to Christmas and make a few improvements. We’ll reopen at the weekend. The Children’s Bookshelf downstairs will remain open as usual.

💙 HELP US KEEP OUR DOORS OPEN 💙

We’re looking for volunteers aged 18 and over to help with our Fidget Factory, second-hand bookshop and Adopt a Teddy station. No experience is needed, and you’ll receive training and support from our team.

We’d love to open upstairs every day until Christmas, but we need enough volunteers to make that possible. Even a few hours could help!

Please message this page or email [email protected] for a volunteer enquiry form.

Every visit, donation and helping hand supports our work towards a simple ambition, every child in Herefordshire deserves a book. 💙📚

29/10/2026

Hard to believe this was just two weeks ago, and now our doors are open! 🎉📚

A huge thank you from all of us at The Herefordshire Reading Trust CIC to HFT Store Hereford, who so kindly donated floor paint for our community space upstairs at The Children’s Bookshelf. 💙

Your generous donation helped us get the space ready to welcome our first visitors this week, and we’re so grateful!

There’s still plenty to do as we develop the space, but support like this helps us take each step forward. Thank you for being part of our beginning. 💙

HFT Material Handling & Storage Systems

26/10/2026

Can anyone recommend a local heating, air conditioning and ventilation company? 😊

Now that part of our Herefordshire Reading Trust space is open upstairs above The Children’s Bookshelf, we’re starting to work through the next jobs that need doing.

One of our priorities is getting proper heating, air conditioning and ventilation sorted so we can make the space comfortable throughout the year.

There is an existing unit upstairs, but it doesn’t work and would need removing. We’d love someone to come and assess the space, advise us on what we need, including extraction, and provide a quote.

As we begin welcoming more families and planning storytelling and community activities, this will make a big difference. 💛

If you can help, or recommend someone locally, please comment below or send us a message. Please share to help us find the right people. Thank you!

26/10/2026

🌈 WE DID IT! WE’RE OPEN UPSTAIRS! 🎉

We’re so excited to welcome you to the Herefordshire Reading Trust, upstairs at The Children’s Bookshelf! 💙

Come and explore…

🌈 The Fidget Factory, lots and lots of amazing fidgets!
📚 The Reading Trust Bookshop, second hand children’s and adults books waiting to be discovered.
🧸 Adopt a Teddy, lovely teddies ready to find a new home.

We’re open EVERY DAY throughout half term, 11am–4pm.

❤️ All money raised goes towards the running costs of the Herefordshire Reading Trust. Every fidget, book and teddy you buy helps us develop our community projects.

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has helped us get here. Every bit of help has been appreciated! 🥰

Downstairs, The Children’s Bookshelf has lots of amazing books and Halloween stock to explore too! 🎃📚

Downstairs opening hours…
Monday–Saturday 10am–5pm
Sunday 10am–4pm

Come and have a browse and support your The Herefordshire Reading Trust CIC, we’d love to see you! 💛

Upstairs at The Children’s Bookshelf, Commercial Street, Hereford.

Please note, we don’t have a lift yet, but some fidgets are available downstairs.

26/10/2026

💙 IMPORTANT — PLEASE READ 💙

You may know us as Duncan and Annette from The Children’s Bookshelf. Alongside running the bookshop, we’ve also set up the Herefordshire Reading Trust CIC, which now has its home upstairs above the shop.

The Children’s Bookshelf and the Reading Trust are separate organisations, but they share our love of books and our determination to make a difference in our community. 💙

We set up the Reading Trust to help break down barriers to reading, support neurodivergent children and families, and put books into children’s hands. At the heart of it is one simple belief: every child deserves a book.

Our aim upstairs is to create a welcoming, inclusive community space where children, young people and families can read, learn, connect and feel comfortable being themselves.

🌈 So, where does The Fidget Factory fit in?

Around three years ago, we started selling sensory toys and fidgets in our old bookshop. Our own children are neurodivergent and use them, as do many of our customers.

That little area began as the Sensory Shack, then became the Sensory Shelf. Since then, interest in fidgets has grown enormously, helped along by TikTok!

We’ve now moved our sensory and fidget sales over to the Reading Trust. The Fidget Factory is upstairs, and the money raised helps cover the Trust’s rent and running costs while we work towards our bigger plans.

And today, we can finally say… WE’RE OPEN! 🎉

Upstairs, you’ll currently find…

The Fidget Factory, lots and lots of amazing fidgets!
The Reading Trust Bookshop, donated children’s and adults’ books waiting to be discovered.
Adopt a Teddy, lovely teddies ready to find a new home.

❤️ All money raised upstairs goes towards the running costs of the Herefordshire Reading Trust. Every fidget, book and teddy you buy helps keep this space going.

There’s much more we hope to do. A sensory room, a lift and accessible toilets are all part of our plans, but will need grants, funding and time. For now, access upstairs is by stairs, with some fidgets available downstairs.

We can also welcome community groups and explore storytelling, reading activities and other events using the space as it is. We’d love to hear from groups who would like to get involved.

Once we’re settled and through Halloween and Christmas, we also want to expand our specialist sensory range, including ear defenders and communication aids for children, teenagers and adults.

💙 To everyone who has painted, cleaned, carried furniture, sorted stock, made decorations, donated or volunteered, THANK YOU. Every little bit of help has brought us to this point.

Upstairs is open EVERY DAY throughout half term, 11am–4pm.

Downstairs, The Children’s Bookshelf is packed with amazing books and Halloween stock too! 🎃📚

Bookshop opening hours…
Monday–Saturday, 10am–5pm
Sunday, 10am–4pm

Please come and visit, have a browse, share our posts and support what we’re building. We’d love to welcome you upstairs! 💛

Above The Children’s Bookshelf, Commercial Street, Hereford.

22/10/2026

🌻 So much exciting new stock arriving, ready for the Fidget Factory to open next week! 🎉

Look at these! We’ve got loud clickers, quiet clickers and even a sunflower lanyard clicker. There’s plenty to explore, whether you love a satisfying click or prefer something a little quieter. 💚

You’ll find the Fidget Factory upstairs at The Children’s Bookshelf, with profits helping to cover the Herefordshire Reading Trust’s running costs and support our work in the community. 📚

We can’t wait to welcome you upstairs. Who’s coming for a look? 👀

22/10/2026

💙 IMPORTANT — PLEASE READ 💙

You may have seen lots of requests for volunteers, donations and help getting our upstairs space ready. We wanted to explain what we’re creating, how the Fidget Factory fits in and what your support will help us achieve.

The Herefordshire Reading Trust is our community interest company, built around a simple belief that every child deserves a book.

Our vision is a welcoming community space where children, young people and families can enjoy books, access reading support, join in with activities and feel comfortable being themselves. Supporting neurodivergent readers and helping people overcome barriers to reading are central to that.

Our home is upstairs above The Children’s Bookshelf on Commercial Street, Hereford, and we’re working towards making that space everything we hope it can be.

Our plans include a sensory room, a lift and accessible toilets. These are all things we’re seeking grants and funding for, so they will come at a later date. For now, access upstairs is by stairs.

While we work towards those plans, we need to cover the rent and running costs. That’s where the Fidget Factory comes in!

Around three years ago, The Children’s Bookshelf began stocking sensory toys and fidgets. As parents of neurodivergent children themselves, the owners knew how useful these could be for their own family and many of their customers.

That little section started as the Sensory Shack, before becoming the Sensory Shelf. The focus was on products to support sensory needs and regulation.

Since then, fidgets have become hugely popular, helped along by TikTok, bringing lots of new people in to discover them.

Now, those sensory and fidget sales are moving over to the Reading Trust to help fund our upstairs space.

The Fidget Factory will open upstairs from next week, alongside The Reading Trust Bookshop, selling donated children’s and adults’ books, and our Adopt a Teddy station. Profits from these sales will help pay our running costs while we apply for funding and develop our community projects.

So those requests for painting, lifting, cleaning, sorting, donated books and teddies, and volunteers to lend a hand are all helping us get this space open and keep it going. 💙

And we can already do things with the space as it is! There is room for community groups, storytelling, reading activities and other opportunities to bring people together. We’d love to hear from groups interested in getting involved.

Once we’re settled and through Halloween and Christmas, we also plan to develop a wider, more specialist sensory range for children, teens and adults, including sensory products, fidgets, ear defenders and communication aids.

We want people to feel welcome to explore, ask questions and find things that suit their individual needs, without pressure or expectations.

For now, this is where we are, and we need our community’s support. Come and visit, join in, volunteer, donate books or teddies, share our posts or talk to us about using the space with your group.

Every donated book, every teddy given a new home, every purchase and every hour of help brings us closer to the community space we’re working towards.

Thank you for helping us build it. 💙

20/10/2026

🎉 We have a winner! 🎉

Congratulations to Lynda Tunnicliffe, who has won the £25 Hereford City Life gift card in our giveaway! 🥳

Our friends at The Children’s Bookshelf asked you to pop over to our page here at The Herefordshire Reading Trust and tell us your favourite childhood book. 📚💙

Thank you to everyone who entered. We loved reading your memories, and we’re so pleased to welcome some new faces to our page!

Lynda, please send us a message so we can arrange your prize! 🎁

18/10/2026

🌈 THE FIDGET FACTORY IS OPENING THIS HALF TERM! 🌈

We’re getting ready to welcome you upstairs at The Children’s Bookshelf, where The Fidget Factory will help raise money for The Herefordshire Reading Trust CIC.

💜Monday the 26th of October to Sunday the 1st of November
💜11am to 4pm every day
💜Upstairs at The Children’s Bookshelf, Commercial Street, Hereford

You’ll find fidgets, donated secondhand books, teddies, soft toys and plushies.

All profits from these sales will go towards our running costs, helping us build a sustainable foundation for the Trust while we apply for funding for the projects and activities we want to develop.

🙌 WE NEED VOLUNTEERS!

Could you spare a few hours this half term?

We’re looking for friendly volunteers aged 18 and over to welcome visitors, help with sales, restock displays and keep the space tidy. No previous experience is needed.

You can offer whatever time you’re available between 11am and 4pm. You don’t need to help for a whole day.

Pop into The Children’s Bookshelf to collect an information sheet and interest form, or message this page to request the information by email. You can simply reply with your details and availability.

Volunteer spaces are limited each day, so we’ll contact you to agree and confirm your dates and times before you come in.

📚 DONATIONS WELCOME

We’re also welcoming donations of good, clean books for children and adults, along with teddies, soft toys and plushies.

We’re collecting Nerf guns too, ready for the Nerf exchange we’re planning!

Whether you can volunteer, donate, visit or share this post, thank you for supporting The Herefordshire Reading Trust CIC and helping us get started. 💚

Address

48 Commercial Street
Hereford
HR12DJ

Website

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