The Verizon Foundation has donated more than 109,000 children’s books to schools and nonprofit organizations as part of their Season’s Readings charity campaign.
As an organization that supports literacy and education, The Verizon Foundation began its Season’s Readings program in 2001 as an employee effort to advance the cause of children’s literacy. Verizon employees at hundreds of company locations have contributed new or slightly used children’s books to the program.
Through a partnership with First Book, a nonprofit organization that provides new books to schools, libraries and other community organizations, the Season’s Readings campaign this year allowed the general public to take part. Online donations accepted by First Book were then matched by Random House children’s books, a contribution that added more than 15,000 books to the campaign’s total.
Bob Pape, principal of Army Trail Elementary School in Addison, Ill, lauded the Verizon Foundation’s philanthropy, crediting the campaign with helping students at Army Trail from low-income families access reading material while "resources are scarce."
According to the American Library Association, almost all school libraries experienced a decrease in funding last year, making the acquisition of books and other information resources a critical issue for K-12 education.
"Studies have shown that one of the most successful methods to improving reading achievement is to ensure that children have easy access to age-appropriate reading material," says Verizon Foundation president Patrick Gaston.
Since its inception, the Season’s Reading campaign has contributed more than 2 million books to children across the country.