Partnership Announcement
Share the Magic Foundation and Worldreader collaborate on the READMarathon to keep children reading.
10 September 2021 – San Francisco, CA and Atlanta, GA. San Francisco-based, global education nonprofit Worldreader and Atlanta-based literacy nonprofit Share the Magic Foundation are pleased to announce a partnership that will bring reading to thousands of children.
Worldreader believes that readers build a better world. Combining 21st-century technology, culturally relevant digital books, and supportive programming, Worldreader seeks to improve learning outcomes, workforce readiness, and gender equity in vulnerable communities around the world. Since 2010, Worldreader and its partners have distributed over 65 million digital books to more than 18 million children and young adults.
In 2020, Worldreader launched the Keep Children Reading Initiative to support children impacted by Covid-19 school closures. Since the launch, Keep Children Reading has expanded to supporting family engagement with reading and strengthening literacy skills both at home and as part of educational programs.
Founded by former NFL wide receiver and Super Bowl champion, Malcolm Mitchell, Share the Magic Foundation seeks to unlock the potential of young lives through literacy. Through its “Read with Malcolm” Literacy programs, the foundation supports students at risk of academic failure by introducing book ownership and innovative, inclusive literacy programming.
Key to the partnership is building excitement around reading. Share the Magic Foundation is hosting Read with Malcolm’s READMarathon, a friendly 26.2 day reading challenge focused on reading stamina. The challenge is a fun way to build the habit of reading in children. To make the challenge as accessible as possible, children and their families will have access to Worldreader’s BookSmart app, available anytime anywhere on the mobile phones families already own. The app includes more than 400 book titles, including featured weekly books in Spanish and English, as well as fun family engagement activities to keep children learning even after the stories end.
Registration for READMarathon 2021 is open now with the challenge commencing on October 12. Please visit this page to learn more and register.
And to learn more about how Worldreader and Share the Magic Foundation support young readers, please visit our respective websites.
MEDIA CONTACT
Melanie Wise
Sr. Director, Global Marketing & Communications
Worldreader
comms@worldreader.org
