The Nottingham Building Society’s latest chapter will see it link up with the National Literacy Trust to support their work with young people and families across the country.

From Monday 9 September, hot on the heels of International Literacy Day, more than 60 of The Nottingham’s branches across nine counties will begin collecting unused books from members and its team via dedicated donation points.

The Nottingham hopes to gather hundreds of books of all kinds – adult and children’s titles in good condition are being accepted. They will be sent to Better World Books to be sold on to avid readers, with all profits donated to the National Literacy Trust.

Research from the National Literacy Trust shows that the more books a child owns, the more likely they are to do well at school and be happy with their lives; yet many children from disadvantaged communities are missing out, with 1 in 8 saying they don’t own a single book.

All money raised through the partnership will support the charity’s work to get books into the hands of children living in deprived areas where low levels of literacy are seriously impacting people’s lives.

The Nottingham’s director of member services, Tina Hayton-Banks, said: “Helping people with literacy and numeracy in the communities where we have branches is something that has been at our core ever since we were founded 170 years ago.

“Our founder, Samuel Fox, was passionate about education for all and set up the UK’s first adult school in Nottingham. He was dedicated to helping people increase their employability prospects through improved literacy levels and gave his team time off to go out to factories across Nottingham to help unskilled workers learn to read and write.

“We want to commemorate this, our 170th year, with something that ties in with that legacy and this partnership with the National Literacy Trust is the perfect fit thanks to the wonderful work they do with their literacy hubs across the country.

“We are sure many of our branch teams and members will be keen to support such a brilliant cause and will generously donate books that they don’t need or want anymore.”

National Literacy Trust chief executive, Jonathan Douglas, added: “We’re thrilled to be working with The Nottingham and Better World Books to get more books into the hands of children and families across the country.

“When children and young people fall in love with reading, the benefits to their education, wellbeing and future prosperity are boundless. But far too many children from the poorest communities are at risk of missing out, simply because they don’t own a book.

“The money raised through this partnership will help us get books to children and families who need them most.”

Pictured is The Nottingham’s director of member services, Tina Hayton-Banks.