Local bookshop’s Marcus Rashford campaign kick-offs with huge support 

A CAMPAIGN to distribute a copy of England footballer Marcus Rashford’s book to every school in Frome and surrounding villages has got off to a flying start with nearly £2,400 raised in less than 24 hours.  

Led by local bookshop Winstone’s Hunting Raven Books, the campaign originally started with the modest target of raising £1,250 to help distribute 200 copies of Marcus Rashford’s inspirational children’s book, ‘You Are a Champion’. 

 But after the overwhelming support shown by the community, the target has been upped to £3,000, which will help pay for 500 copies of the footballer’s book. 

 “As I left Hunting Raven on the evening of the 14th July, I had a press release saved and ready to send to the Frome Times in the morning,” said Hunting Raven’s manager Tina Gaisford-Waller. “It was about a campaign we were set to launch with the ultimate aim of distributing 200 copies of Marcus Rashford’s inspirational children’s book – You Are a Champion – to kids in Frome; both by providing a set of books to each and every school in Frome and the surrounding villages, and also by working with our friends at Fair Frome and the children’s charity Purple Elephant to get the book directly into the hands of disadvantaged or vulnerable young people. 

 “We had put £250 in the pot ourselves, and had already received an extremely generous donation of £500 from Frome Town Rotary to kick things off. We were hoping (with fingers crossed) to raise a further £500. 

 “The JustGiving link had gone live earlier in the day – so, once the kids were in bed, I shared it in a couple of low key social media posts at around 8.30pm hoping to get a little head-start.  

 “Ten minutes later, we had reached our goal. And by 11pm we had doubled it. I woke in the morning to a flurry of donations, to find it had doubled again!  

“I was completely blown away by the generosity shown, but not at all surprised by the outpouring of support for Marcus Rashford who emerged as one of the heroes of the Covid year – pressing the government to provide free school meals through the holidays, and using his remarkable online platform to support local food banks and community groups.  

 “Marcus’ own experiences of childhood poverty lent him a credibility that other well-meaning celebrities lacked, and his calm and dignified manner has had the effect of making people listen.  

 “Now, Marcus has drawn upon his experiences to write an inspiring and thoughtful book for young people – from as young as 9 up to as old as 16 – called ‘You Are a Champion: How to be the Best You Can Be’.  

 “As Marcus says in the introduction: “This book is the book I wish I’d had, and it’s my way of trying to lend a hand on your journey; No matter who you are and no matter where you come from, every single person in the world has the potential to be a champion.” 

 “Marcus and his publishers Pan Macmillan are keen to see as many books reaching readers who might not otherwise get hold of a copy, so we at Winstone’s Hunting Raven Books teamed up with them to help do just that.” 

 To donate to the campaign, please visit:  

 “Even small donations will help us towards our target,” said Tina, “the support so far means so much to us, as it extends the reach of our project considerably, meaning we can reach more schools and more children.” 

Picture: Hunting Raven staff members Aderyn and Tom with Marcus Rashford’s book.