Today, thousands of new books are now into the hands of local children thanks to our annual “If You Give A Child A Book…”campaign.
This literacy program and donation drive help children learn to develop a life long love of reading. This year’s recipient is Jefferson Elementary School in Appleton.
And today we were lucky enough to be there when the children were surprised with more than 3500 brand new books.
“Sometimes I get in a cozy spot and sometimes I want my baby sister next to me and I just read to her. That’s what I like about reading,” says first-grader, Alliyah Beeman at Jefferson Elementary School.
This school year so much has changed for students. But one thing that hasn't changed is our promise to help empower all young readers.
Jefferson Elementary School teachers say when children take books home to keep it helps nourish their love for books and learning.
“In the library, you have a limited time to have the books but if you want to pass it down to someone you can still always re-read it without having a time limit or feeling rushed,” says 5th grader, Holly Rislov.
Now more than ever children need access to books in their homes.
The “If You Give A Child A Book…” campaign puts books into the hands of children in need right here in our community.
“We didn't know what you expect and then boxes and boxes came here and it literally brought tears to my eyes. Because we pulled out all of these books that we knew we were going to be able to give to our kids to keep,” says Melissa Cust, 1st-grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary School.
Thanks to your generosity and the non-profit arm of our parent company, The Scripps-Howard Foundation we raised enough money to donate 3,442 brand new Scholastic Books. That’s between 11 and 15 books per student.
“Just to get a brand new book a lot of kids in our school don't get that opportunity to so give them that opportunity just means so much,” 5th-grade teacher, Kellie Mammenga says.
61% of low-income families have zero books at home. A child who can’t read at grade level by third grade is four times less likely to graduate from high school. If this same child lives in poverty, they are 13 times less likely to graduate.
Building a love for reading can give children the tools they need to be successful in school and in life.
“We're all in this together and it’s so good to see them and their smiles even behind masks you can see when their eyes are smiling,” Cust says.
Our 2021 Campaign raised enough money to donate 5 times the number of books from last year.
We would like to give a special thanks to Scholastic Books for hand-picking each age-appropriate books for our students.
If you would like to donate to our cause in the future click here.
