Free books delivered to Florida students thanks to massive influx of donations
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A free, statewide book delivery program n Florida is now fully funded.
The New Worlds Reading Initiative started delivering books to eligible kindergarten through 5th grade students back in December.
Thanks to $50 million in commitments from corporate sponsors, even more children will be getting books.
The program mails a new book to eligible and enrolled Florida students each month for free.
Book choices are personalized for each student's interests and books are available in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole language formats.
The program also offers materials for families to support young readers.
Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls has been a vocal proponent of the initiative, highlighting research that shows how literacy rates are tied to future success for children.
He says 88% of high schoolers who don't graduate were struggling to read in third grade.
"An alarming percentage of children who are struggling readers, particularly poor, poor children, don't even have a book in their home. How can you fall in love with reading? How could you see yourself in a character, in a book or an adventure and see yourself doing something amazing, well above where you know the neighborhood that you grow up in if you don't even have a book that you can interact with?" Sprowls said.
Sprowls says the number of children receiving books has crossed the 135,000 mark.
For more information, visit www.newworldsreading.com.