Let’s Get Children Reading Grant Recipients Announced

May 3, 2023 – San Francisco, California. International nonprofit Worldreader is proud to announce the selection of the Let’s Get Children Reading Grant recipients. The grant program is designed to support community-based nonprofit organizations dedicated to getting children and their families reading a minimum of 25 books a year.

The Let’s Get Children Reading Grant was opened in March 2023 to US organizations working to solve the learning crisis by promoting family reading and building the reading confidence of parents and caregivers to support their child’s learning. The grant program received an overwhelming response, with many organizations submitting innovative and impactful proposals. Worldreader would like to thank all applicants for submitting competitive proposals and is pleased to announce that after a rigorous selection process, 27 grantees have been selected.

We are thrilled to announce the grantees of the Let’s Get Children Reading Grant. According to the 2022 National Assessment of Education Progress, 65% of children in the United States cannot read or understand a simple story. We believe reading can and should happen anywhere and we make it easy to do that using BookSmart. The grantees we have selected are using creativity to engage readers everywhere from laundry mats and prison visitor centers to schools and homes, doing crucial work to help solve the crisis, and we are proud to support their efforts.

Kristen Walter, Worldreader Director of US Programs

Worldreader will award one-year seed grants valued between $3,500 and $7,500 to the following organizations:

• Atlanta Habitat for Humanity
• Baker-Zachary Alumnae – Delta Sigma Theta
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago
• Boys & Girls Club of Elgin
• Burst Into Books
• Cahokia Unit School District #187
• Centennial Academy 
• Chicago HOPES for Kids
• East Nashville Hope Exchange
• Ethos Classical 
• Florida Alliance of Children’s Councils and Trusts (FACCT)
• GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students
• Georgia Head Start Association
• Genoa Elementary
• HeartBound Ministries
• Kids Above All 
• LaAmistad
• LaundryCares Foundation 
• New Song Community Learning Center/New Song Academy #322
• Play Smart Literacy
• SGA Youth & Family Services
• SPAN Parent Advocacy Network
• The Black Book Project
• The Literacy Cooperative
• Tutoring Chicago
• VOCEL
• West Harvey-Dixmoor District 147

The Let’s Get Children Reading Grant is part of Worldreader’s ongoing efforts to get children around the world reading. Worldreader believes that readers build a better world and that providing equitable opportunities to read is key to helping children reach their potential. Regular reading not only improves reading comprehension but also enhances social-emotional learning.

We believe that every child should have the opportunity to harness the power of reading, and we are working with our partners to make this a reality. By empowering caregivers to read with their children early in life, we are not only helping them reach their potential but also building a better world for all of us.

Rebecca Chandler Leege, CEO of Worldreader

The Let’s Get Children Reading Grant is made possible by generous corporate funding granted to Worldreader with the goal of engaging children and their families in reading. The selected organizations will receive a total of nearly $170,000 in funding, which will help them implement reading programs focused on a range of areas, including improving access to reading, building reading comprehension and emotional intelligence, and fostering a love of reading among children. Grantees will also have access to Worldreader’s complete BookSmart reading experience as a tool to promote reading in and out of school.

The Let’s Get Children Reading Grant will help The Black Book Project provide virtual, engaging literacy opportunities for diverse children and families. We are excited to provide them with quick and easy access to digital books that are fun to read! The BookSmart app also has a large collection of books that showcase diversity, which aligns so closely with the mission of The Black Book Project!

Meredith McKinney, Executive Director, The Black Book Project

About Worldreader

Worldreader gets children reading so they can reach their potential. The international nonprofit organization works with partners to get children reading at least 25 books a year with understanding, because regular reading leads to improved educational outcomes, stronger emotional intelligence, and higher earning potential. Worldreader achieves impact with BookSmart, a complete reading experience that improves reading comprehension, social-emotional, and digital literacy skills for children ages 3-12 years old. Since 2010, Worldreader has supported more than 21 million readers in over 100 countries.

 

MEDIA CONTACT
Wendi Huestis
Chief Advancement Officer
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