You can make a difference this World Book Day - Thursday 5th March 2026
World Book Day is a fantastic time to celebrate the joy of reading! However, finding different resources to use, year on year, can be a challenge for schools. Not to mention the pressure on parents to find new costumes for their children each year.
This World Book Day, why not take the pressure away from your teachers and parents by celebrating the day differently?
We would love to come to your school and hold a fun assembly to share the Bela book, explain what leprosy is, and discuss important issues like friendship and inclusion.
Your teachers will be able to continue the conversation with their own classes, using our cross-curricular activities for every key stage.
There is no charge for our visit, but in return we ask that you commit to holding a simple and easy-to-run fundraiser.
Instead of asking your children to dress up this year, your school would choose one of our fundraising activities ‘Odd Shoes Day Tuesday’ or ‘Gloves to Show Love’. They simply involve shoes or gloves, taking the stress away and putting the enjoyment of World Book Day back in!
Fundraising activities
We have two fundraising activities that are easy to organise and fun for children to participate in. You can also choose your own fundraising event.
We recommend a suggested minimum donation of £1 per child, but any donation is gratefully received.
Every child takes home an information leaflet and a Leprosy Mission logo bug. If a child raises £5 or more, they will also receive a Leprosy Mission wristband. If they raise £10 or more, they will also receive a Leprosy Mission sandal keyring. This is because it costs £10 to provide a person affected with leprosy with a pair of protective sandals to protect feet that have lost feeling.
Odd Shoes Day Tuesday
For this fundraising activity, children come to school wearing different shoes for a day. This reminds children that leprosy takes away feeling in feet, which means it’s easy to injure them. Treating foot ulcers is a key part of our work because it prevents disability. This activity is great for raising community awareness, as people question why children are wearing odd shoes.
Gloves to Show Love
For this fundraiser, children bring a pair of gloves to school and wear them during different lessons. It reminds children that if leprosy isn’t cured quickly, fingers curl in to palms and won’t straighten. They also lose feeling. This makes it very hard for children to hold a pen at school, catch a ball, or grip a spoon. It emphasises how important our hands and fingers are.
School assembly
Your special World Book Day assembly will last approximately 20 minutes and will explain all about leprosy in a fun and interactive way. We will share the Bela story and introduce the accompanying resources.
Children are invited to take part in a quiz. Four children are invited up to the front to participate in an activity showing the importance of feeling in their hands. A video uses a real-life story about two children who caught leprosy at an early age. Together, we will then explore the challenges they faced at school and in their community.
We will then introduce the Bela story and accompanying resources. The assembly ends by launching your preferred fundraising activity.
Click here to book your World Book Day visit from one of our team.
Leading a lesson
We can provide an engaging and interactive lesson for a class using the Bela teaching resources. This gives your children the opportunity to learn about leprosy and space for discussion and questions. Lessons are cross-curricular, and there are differentiated activities for children in all key stages.
We are passionate about helping children understand more about leprosy and how they can make a difference to those affected.
We want them to know that they can make a positive difference to people who are affected by this disease. A simple school fundraiser will change lives!
Our friendly Community Partnerships team have all had enhanced DBS checks, and are ready to help you get involved. If you have any questions or want to find out more, get in touch with the Community Partnerships Manager for your area.
We partner with schools to provide engaging information and offer the following:
