Maggie’s Day returned to The Story Museum on Thursday 2nd October, bringing donors and supporters together for a joyful celebration of reading, imagination and creativity. The event is held each year to showcase the impact of the Maggie Evans Fund, a memorial fund held and managed by Oxfordshire Community Foundation that helps bring the joy of reading to children from all backgrounds and supports projects with local schools, including those in less affluent areas.

The Maggie Evans Fund was set up by Maggie’s family to celebrate a lively and clear-thinking young woman 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.

As in previous years, the day was built around a performance by a children’s author and welcomed a class from one of the museum’s Spellbound Schools, which are supported to help pupils enjoy reading and the world of stories. This year’s guest was Jo Cotterill, a popular children’s writer and musician with local roots in Abingdon.

Jo’s session centred on her novel Jelly and was full of audience involvement. The book touches on themes such as body image, hidden worries and finding the confidence to share how you really feel, giving children a relatable way to think about their own emotions. She spoke about her journey as a writer and also got the visiting Spellbound School class involved in creating a brand new story. Afterwards, the children continued exploring the museum’s imaginative spaces, with each child taking home a copy of Jelly and an extra copy donated to their school library.

Guests enjoyed refreshments and a buffet lunch and heard a short update from Lucy Webber, Head of Learning, on current activities supported by the fund, especially Extreme Reading Adventures, which offers immersive story experiences designed to build confidence among children who may be less engaged with reading. Many supporters stayed to explore the exhibitions, including Here Be Dragons and the new Story Arcade, which looks at the relationship between video games and storytelling.

We are always very grateful for donations of any size to the Maggie Evans Fund, which helps continue Maggie’s legacy by enabling children to experience books, stories and creative learning. If you would like to donate, you can do so here.