CINCINNATI – The Scripps Howard Foundation is again “Giving light. Changing lives” through its literacy campaign – this time, by giving books to children in need across the nation on National Reading Day.
Now in its second year, the “If You Give a Child a Book …” literacy campaign has distributed more than 100,000 books to children. The campaign is a partnership of the Foundation, employees of The E.W. Scripps Company and members of the Scripps family.
“Understanding that literacy is a powerful antidote to poverty, our employees nationwide have generously pledged money to purchase books for children in their markets,” said Liz Carter, president and CEO of Scripps Howard Foundation. “Since our first campaign, employee contributions have allowed us to give more than 100,000 books to disadvantaged youth while helping Scripps to fulfill its mission of informing, engaging and empowering those we serve.”
The “If You Give a Child a Book …” campaign receives donations from Scripps employees and matching dollars from members of the Scripps family. Every dollar is used for the purchase of books for children in need. Books are purchased at cost through a partnership with Scholastic, further maximizing the purchase power of every donated dollar.
For the second annual “If You Give a Child a Book …” campaign, Scripps news organizations chose a local nonprofit group that works with children and families to receive the books. Some examples include:
· In Columbia, Missouri, Newsy will deliver books to First Chance for Children. The organization serves children in rural communities who do not have easy access to books.
· In Bakersfield, California, KERO will host an assembly at Williams Elementary School. Clifford the Big Red Dog will steal the spotlight by making an appearance and giving each child a book.
· In Indianapolis, WRTV will host a book fair at Channel 13 Action News to allow students to select a book of their choice.
· In Phoenix, KNXV will brighten the lives of children in foster care by delivering books to Arizona’s Children Association.
· In Las Vegas, KTNV will give books to Spread the Word Nevada. News anchors also will appear in a series of social media vignettes talking about the importance of reading.
Fox 4 celebrates National Reading Day at Littleton Elementary
In addition to the annual National Reading Day book-gifting activities, the Foundation has provided $100,000 in campaign-related grants since 2017 to select nonprofit organizations that distribute books to children.
Scripps-Howard Foundation and Fox 4 donate books to Salvation Army
Five organizations are surprised each year with a $10,000 grant. Recipients are selected through a competitive application process. These grants were made possible by another generous gift from a member of the Scripps family.
