Community is encouraged to invest in childhood literacy and help buy 18,000 books
Sugar Land ‐ The start of the new school year also means it’s time to kick‐off ACHIEVE Fort Bend County’s annual fundraising campaign for its 2023 Summer Reading Program. The program strives to keep children who are struggling with reading interested and engaged in reading over the summer months and ultimately better prepared for the new school year. Targeting students earlier in their education helps prevent reading loss that many children experience during the summer months. A $50 investment buys 10 books for one child and helps keep them from falling behind academically.
“Our goal is to raise enough funds to give 10 free custom‐picked books to 1,800 first grade students in Fort Bend County area schools,” said James Patterson, ACHIEVE Fort Bend County Board President. “Numerous studies indicate that reading skills of students from low‐income households slide back a few months when schools are closed. We believe our program fills a critical gap for students who may not have access to books at home, much less books they are interested in at their reading level.”
Children struggling to read at an early age are unlikely to flourish in schools and in life. ACHIEVE’s C launched six years ago and has given more than 50,000 books to more than 5,000 English and Spanish‐speaking first grade students in Title I schools. Students are identified by teachers and administrators, and qualified educators select books that represent the reading level, language and interest of each child so that they can be inspired to read the books many times over and share them with others in their household.
“This year’s goal of 18,000 books will increase our number of students served by about 600 students!”
concluded Patterson. “We couldn’t do it without our dedicated community volunteers and all those who continue to give financially. Supporting literacy in our community goes a long way in serving more children and strengthening our economy, our families and our future.”
To donate or for more information about ACHIEVE Fort Bend and its Summer Reading Program, please:
Visit the Achieve Fort Bend County Facebook page;
Email achievefbc@yahoo.com; or
Donate directly online at https://donorbox.org/achieve‐fort‐bend‐county‐summer‐reading‐program‐2023