Children require encouragement to read, and can develop a love for reading with the provision of new books. With their own books, they stand a better chance of learning to read and do better in school.
Children from low income families have literacy scores of more than 40 points lower than their high-income counterparts; providing new books and encouraging them to read are hallmarks of K.I.D.S.’ program. In 2008, K.I.D.S received $5.8 million worth of new books and materials from the publishing and media industry including companies such as Scholastic, Strictly By the Book, Hickory Tales and White Cloud Press.
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Since 2005, Scholastic Inc. has donated hundreds of thousands of books to K.I.D.S. for distribution to children in depressed and under-served regions of the country. Part of this program focuses on providing books to Native American children; through Scholastic’s donation to K.I.D.S., these students now have thousands of books that bridge the worlds between school and home.
“Books on Bases, Smiles on Faces®” is a new program offered by K.I.D.S. and the military family support organization Blue Star Families. The goal of this program is to have a positive impact on children from military families by providing them with new books donated to family libraries on military bases, Department of Defense schools and military impacted public schools.
Donor Spotlight: First Book
To further extend our reach in literacy programs, K.I.D.S. has partnered with First Book, a US nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide disadvantaged children with new books. K.I.D.S. works with First Book’s National Book Bank program to distribute large-scale donations from more than 50 publishers to programs serving children in need. In 2009, First Book donated $2.3 million worth of books to K.I.D.S. for our agencies around the country. |
