With an opening event on the importance of books for children, the fourth edition of the campaign “Make magic! Give a book to a child.”
The first books are already on their way to their young readers, after guests at the opening event chose from the website and purchased on the spot more than 50 of the specific titles desired by children.
Every sixth child in Bulgaria does not have books suitable for his age. In fact, thousands of children dream of getting a book, but it never happens. That is why the National Network for Children (NNC every year at Christmas conducts the campaign “Make magic! Give a book to a child.” The campaign has already started and will continue until December 15, and anyone who wants to give a book to a child can choose the specific wish of a child from the campaign site https://napravimagia.nmd.bg/ and send it to him.
The official launch of the campaign was given with an opening event on 25/11/2023 at the Siela Cafe-Bookstore in the Mall of Sofia in the capital. The guests of the event joined the conversation about why children’s books are extremely important for children together with Tsveta Brestnička – children’s writer and initiator of the campaign; Albena Ralenkova – editor, “Fute” publishing house; Radostina Nikolova – publisher, “Marmot” publishing house; Silvia Vasileva, Health and Social Development Foundation. The official start of the campaign was given by Gergana Efremova, member of the Board of Directors of NNC and manager of “Strategic Partnerships” of “Together in an hour”, and the host of the event was Val Stoeva – founder of the Children’s Books Foundation and member of NNC.
“Reading is not just letters that turn into words. Reading goes through the heart. What children love about books in the beginning is really that it’s an experience with the parents, something nice that they do as a shared experience.” – this message was sent by Tsveta Brestnička, children’s writer and initiator of the initiative “Make magic! Give a book to a child.”
This year, NNC received over 2,000 applications for the campaign. All requested books and the first names or nicknames of the children who requested them are published on the campaign site at https://napravimagia.nmd.bg . The first books are already on their way to their young readers, after guests at the opening event chose from the website and purchased on the spot more than 50 of the specific titles desired by children.
The campaign will continue until December 15 and will be conducted online. Anyone who wants to get involved and give a child a book of their choice can visit the initiative’s website, choose which child to give a book to and follow the instructions on how to send it.
The wishes of the children have been collected with the help of the NNC member organizations that work daily with these children in different parts of the country.
With the implemented campaigns from 2020 to 2022, NNC and donors have delighted over 6,000 children with the book of their dreams. The fourth edition of the campaign is realized with the support of the companies Experian, Ekont and UniCredit Bulbank, and DHL Express Bulgaria will send the booklets free of charge. The initiative is also supported by Ciela bookstores, which hosted the opening event and provided a 10% discount on books purchased for the campaign on the very day of the campaign launch.
