Diane Gledhill, union learning rep at Royal Mail in Bradford
It wasn't easy to get people signed up at first but in the end 60 took part in our depot. I worked with a team of union learning reps to encourage people. But it was the fact that I could be in the same place each week to catch people coming off or going on to a shift that proved key in promoting the Challenge to staff.
We linked with Bradford Libraries but we also had a small number of Quick Reads and other emergent reader titles on site and these became the core stock. This generated excitement about which books were the best, and they were quickly snapped up. I kept records of what people read and could tell people when a book they were looking for became available.
People were given incentives as they reached different stages of the Challenge. These were small - a mug and a Kit-Kat for instance, or a free book. They did the Challenge for a variety of reasons: to join in with friends, to get back into reading or to try something new.
12 learners completed the Challenge and were awarded certificates by our regional unionlearn manager Dr Alan Roe during Adult Learners' Week
