As part of the fun, free, and safe, Scholastic Summer Reading program, the Company has committed to a donation of 100,000 new, free books, which will be distributed in partnership with Save the Children to kids across the country in rural areas. This is all in effort to ensure more children have the opportunity to discover the power and joy of reading while school is out.
Last month, Scholastic and Save the Children began the book distribution process with two summer kick-off events in White County, Arkansas and San Bernardino County, California. Both events provided children with an opportunity to receive books, celebrate with literacy activity stations, games, read-alouds, and more!
Kids and families who attended each event got to select their own titles to keep and take home forever. This critical initiative is designed to not only help kids build their at-home libraries, but it will also encourage a sense of ownership, develop curiosity, and inspire kids to dive deeper into their favorite stories.
"Reading is the gateway to everything, and encouraging kids to read is a big deal," said Jennifer, a mom of two kids participating in Save the Children's White County, Arkansas, programs who is also an assistant principal at the local elementary school. "Sometimes there is a barrier for kids to get books, especially in the summer, so any books we can give to our kids is huge for our community."
Moreover, books also help kids relate to and understand their surroundings better. According to the Kids & Family Reading Report ™: 7th Edition, 74 percent of kids agree that reading fiction and nonfiction helps them understand the world and additional research has displayed the academic benefits of summer reading to be substantial.
Scholastic and Save the Children are long-time partners who, together, have gifted millions of books to children all over America. This special summer collaboration shines a light on the communities who need literacy access the most and provides a necessary spark of joy in a child’s reading journey.
“Children can accelerate learning when they read regularly over the summer. But nearly two out of three low-income kids don't have any books in their homes,” said Betsy Zorio, Vice President of U.S. Programs for Save the Children. “Thanks to Scholastic and its summer reading campaign, Save the Children will be able to give books to young readers who need them most, sparking the joy of reading across rural America this summer.”
Kids can still participate in the Scholastic Summer Reading Program by creating an account on the fully moderated, Scholastic HomeBase, a place where they can discover new favorite titles, join a community of readers, start and keep Reading Streaks™, attend virtual author events, and more!
To learn more about the Scholastic Summer Reading Program, visit: www.scholastic.com/summer and follow @Scholastic on Twitter!
