Scholastic
Book Clubs™ ClassroomsCare Campaign Donates 250,000 New
Books for First Book to Distribute to Mississippi and Alabama
Children in Need First Book-East
Central (MS) hosts distribution in partnership with The Colom
Foundation Washington,
DC – December 12, 2003 – Scholastic Book
Clubs™ ClassroomsCare, a philanthropy-based literacy campaign
designed to teach children about the joy and importance of reading
and giving, is donating 250,000 books to the First Book National
Book Bank for distribution in specific areas of Mississippi and
Alabama. With help from The Colom Foundation, First Book will
distribute the new books to thousands of children from low-income
families
on December 16-18. Organizations including Operation Shoestring,
Young’s Child Development Center, West Point School District,
Third Avenue Kiddie Korner, the Boys & Girls Club of Columbus – Lowndes
County, and Batesville Head Start Center will receive books being
distributed from Columbus, MS to give to the children they serve. On
Wednesday, December 17 at 10:00 a.m., there will be a press
event with Columbus Mayor Jeffrey Rupp along with representatives
from The Colom Foundation, First Book-East Central (MS), and
First Book’s national office to celebrate this donation
on behalf of the students participating in Scholastic Book
Clubs™ ClassroomsCare.
The distribution and the event will take place at the Boys & Girls
Club of Columbus - Lowndes County (1815 14th Avenue North,
Columbus, MS 39701). First Book-East Central (MS) is a new Advisory
Board serving children in communities throughout northeast
Mississippi. In
addition to
book distributions by First Book Advisory Boards, a major
component of First Book’s work is accomplished through the First
Book National Book Bank (FBNBB), a centralized donation and
distribution
agent that enables publishers to donate books to established,
community-based programs. “
I am delighted to participate in this distribution which is bringing
thousands of brand new books to the children and families of Columbus
and beyond, stated Mayor Jeffrey Rupp. “It is through the
combined efforts of organizations like The Colom Foundation and
First Book that we can make a significant difference to improve
children’s literacy.” “
There is no greater inheritance a society can give its children
than the power to read. Whatever else is given – money, land,
faith, freedom – will soon be lost by a generation that cannot
command the written word,” said Colom Foundation President
Wilbur O. Colom. “These books we are giving will help, but
what we need more than anything are parents that will read to their
children. Parents must accept that their children need them to
read to them more than they need to shop with them or buy them
the latest name brand clothing. It’s the reading, not the
rags, that counts.” “
Through the ClassroomsCare initiative, hundreds of thousands of
kids across the country are learning a powerful lesson -- that
the simple act of one child reading can actually make a difference
in the life of another child who doesn't own a book," said
Judy Newman, Senior Vice President, Scholastic Book Clubs. “Through
out partnership with First Book, we can help children, who might
otherwise not have a book of their own, discover the joy of reading.” “
Improving literacy is a challenge that has long faced our state,” noted
Butch Dollar, treasurer of First Book-East Central (MS). “It
is tragic that, all too often, Mississippi’s children grow
up in households that have little or no reading material. I am
overjoyed to be able to participate in a program as worthy as First
Book, which is taking great strides to remedy this problem not
just in Mississippi, but around the country as well.”
The books from Scholastic Book Clubs ClassroomsCare
are part of a one million book donation to First
Book this
fall. About The Colom Foundation The Colom Foundation is the philanthropic arm
of The Colom Law Firm. Founded in 2000 by Wilbur O.
Colom,
the Foundation
is dedicated
to providing funding support for education and
skills training. The Foundation’s projects include: the Boys and Girls Club
Investment Clubs, a program in Mississippi’s
Boys and Girls Clubs that teaches young people
financial responsibility; book
distributions with national non-profit First
Book; the Colom Fellow, which provides a young
African politician with the opportunity
for a political internship in the United States;
the African-American Archives Project at the
Columbus-Lowndes County Public Library;
the Holly Springs Civil Rights Celebration. In addition, the Foundation is working with
the Zimbabwe International Book Fair to bring
the
top 100 African
novels of the 20th century
to the United States. About Scholastic Book Clubs The ClassroomsCare campaign partners with
teachers nationwide to encourage children
to read to
benefit others. For
every 100 books
read by participating classrooms, Scholastic
Book Clubs donates 100 books to children
in need for
a total donation
this year
of up to two million books nationwide.
First Book is a ClassroomsCare national charity
partner.
For 55 years, Scholastic Book clubs have
provided monthly catalogues offering
top quality books
and reading materials
from all publishers
to teachers in pre-school through junior
high. Today eleven different Scholastic
Book Clubs
reach one
million teachers
each month,
providing the most sought-after titles
at affordable prices for children
in classrooms nationwide. The ClassroomsCare
Campaign is available to teachers and
classrooms through
five of the
Scholastic Book
Clubs: Firefly® Book Club for pre-schoolers; Seesaw® Book
Club for kindergarten and grade 1; Lucky® Book Club for grades
2-3; Arrow® Book Club for grades 4-6; and TAB® Book
Club for grades 7 and up. About First Book First Book is a national nonprofit
organization with a single mission: to give children
from low-income families the opportunity
to read
and own their first new books. In
neighborhoods across
the country, First Book Advisory
Boards unite
leaders from
all
sectors of
the community to provide books to
children in literacy programs, shelters
for battered children, housing project
initiatives, soup kitchens, after-school
programs and
other community-based efforts reaching
children living at or below the poverty
line. In the last two years alone,
First Book has
provided almost
15 million
new
books to children
in need in hundreds of communities
nationwide. For more
information about First Book, or
to make a donation to help children
in need, please visit www.firstbook.org.
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