The Maggie Evans Fund is a memorial fund whose chief focus is to bring the joy of reading to children from all backgrounds.

The fund encourages literacy, a love of books and a fascination for stories of all kinds. It supports a variety of projects in Oxfordshire schools, particularly in less affluent areas, working primarily with the Story Museum in Oxford.

The Maggie Evans Fund was established to celebrate a lively and clear-thinking young woman called Maggie, whose life was cut tragically short. Maggie Evans had many passions and interests, not to mention talents and abilities, but was known in her last years for her work on books, especially children’s books, and it is to this that the Fund seeks to be loyal in what it does.

Thanks to the generosity of its donors, the Maggie Evans Fund has supported The Story Museum in Oxford for over ten years, facilitating engaging educational experiences for children, and giving them the chance to meet inspirational authors in the flesh. This includes:

• Extreme Reading Adventures, a six-week reading programme designed for children aged 8 to 12 who have been identified by their teachers as reluctant readers; and
• Spellbound Schools, a two-year programme of immersive experiences and teacher development focused on oral storytelling and lifelong learning.

The programmes culminate in an annual Maggie's Day at The Story Museum in Oxford, bringing together friends of Maggie and her family, and supporters of the fund, along with a group of schoolchildren to enjoy a presentation by a chosen author and spend some time together at the museum.

We very much appreciate donations of any size to help these programmes continue, and to preserve Maggie’s literary legacy. For donations over £500, we would love to have a conversation with you! Please contact OCF's Deputy Chief Executive Kate Parrinder at [email protected].

The fund is held and managed by Oxfordshire Community Foundation (OCF), Charitable Incorporated Organisation number 1151621.