International book charity opens Swindon warehouse
Book Aid International has officially opened its new warehouse on the Cheney Manor Estate in Swindon.
Guests at the launch this summer (11th June) included key funders of the charity, book donors and representatives from the Swindon community, including Tim Major and Les Durrant from Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce, who have helped welcome the charity to the area.
Book Aid International’s Chair of the Board of Trustees, Dr Alice Prochaska, expressed her thanks for the warm welcome Book Aid International has received from the Swindon community.
Stressing the significance of the new warehouse, the charity’s President, Nigel Newton CBE, said, “If you put the right book in front of the right reader anywhere in the world, something special happens. Book Aid International is the most effective way I know of getting books to the places where publishers cannot go but where books are genuinely needed and wanted.”
Guests also heard from bestselling author Abi Daré, the charity’s 2026 Author Ambassador. She said, “There are readers all over the world who yearn for the opportunity to read. But they have no books. It’s a huge problem with a wonderfully simple solution: send more books! Book Aid International is poised to do just that – but they can’t do it alone. So I urge you to do what you can to help share the power of books with readers worldwide.”
The charity provides books to over 150 partners worldwide in response to their requests. In an average year, more than 20 million people have the opportunity to read books provided by Book Aid International in libraries, schools, refugee camps, prisons, medical libraries and universities worldwide. The charity hopes to send over one million books by the end of 2026.
Behind every shipment of books is a dedicated team, including volunteers from the Swindon community who help to pack each book, and thousands of supporters who donate the funds the charity needs. Book Aid International receives no government grants or support and relies entirely on the generosity of the public to do its work.
Book Aid International is actively looking for regular volunteers to join its warehouse team in Swindon, and for corporate partners who can help fund its work sharing the power of books worldwide.
To find out more about volunteering at the Swindon warehouse, visit: bookaid.org/job/warehouse-volunteer/
To discuss a corporate partnership, contact Tom Manning: tom.manning@bookaid.org
Pictured: Bestselling author Abi Daré, the charity’s 2026 Author Ambassador, speaking to guests about the power of books
