Scholastic will donate one million books to schools affected by Hurricane Sandy

Today marks the two-week anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, and the devastation continues to affect millions. Here in New York City, more than 20 schools are still unable to open. Dozens of schools in New Jersey are still closed. And getting kids the books and materials they need is more important than ever.

Today, we’ve announced that we will donate one million books to schools and libraries in the hardest-hit areas of the tri-state region. And we’re so grateful to be working with Kids in Distressed Situations, Inc. (K.I.D.S.) to help distribute the million books to the schools and libraries that need them most.

To help in the recovery efforts with support for the educators, families and students who have suffered losses, we’re also accepting book grant requests at www.scholastic.com/bookgrants, so if you have a specific school or library in mind that you believe needs books, please fill out the book grant form.

We know, too, that in addition to books, many teachers have lost the lesson plans and resources they’ve developed or accumulated over the years, so we’re making available a rich array of free, grade-leveled lesson plans and activities for these educators. Teachers in neighborhoods impacted by the storm will receive an email from us with a link to the free, downloadable, ready-to-use materials.

And, for everyone, we have some free online resources to support children’s social and emotional recovery we’d like to point out to you, including tips from the Yale Child Study Center to assist families and schools in helping children cope, advice for parents on talking to kids about disasters, a list of books that will  help adults explain how storms happen in child-friendly terms, as well as books to comfort children suffering trauma from the disaster, and age-appropriate coverage of the storm and recovery by the Scholastic News Kid Reporters. You can find all of these online resources right here.

Our thoughts continue to be with those affected by the storm. And this quote from Richard Robinson, our President and CEO, sums it up best: “The educators, parents and caregivers, who are helping children in our hard hit communities throughout the region, are true heroes. All of us at Scholastic are committed to getting these books, lesson plans and other learning materials into the affected communities as soon as possible in the hope that we can provide support for our young people as they return to schools that need extra resources.”