Making a difference, one book at a time, is the goal of our "If You Give a Child a Book" campaign. WXYZ employees and the Scripps Howard Fund have donated this cause, and we're going to match your donations today.
Every dollar contributed helps put brand new books into the hands of children right here in metro Detroit — books these kids get to take home.
HELP GIVE A CHILD A BOOK BY CLICKING HERE
I met some fifth graders at Pepper Elementary School in Oak Park, which is one of the schools taking part in this effort.
Christian Hall, one of the students, showed me his favorite book in his home library, "Mr. Sunny is Funny."
“What would you like to tell me when it comes to books and your love of reading?” I asked.
"When it comes to books, I like reading graphic novels and also learning new words," Christian said.
As for fellow fifth grader Nevaeh McDaniel, she said her favorites are "Dog Man" and "Babysitter's Club."
She has both of those books in her home library, along with dozens of other free book she's picked out over the past five years when the Scholastic Book Fair came to school, all thanks to the donations of metro Detroiters and WXYZ employees to the Scripps Howard Fund's "If You Give a Child a Book" campaign.
The campaign has provided more than 100,000 books to children at Title I schools in metro Detroit and more than a million books across the country.
"What’s a statistic that really stands out to you when it comes to reading at an early age?” I asked.
"So, reading at an early age provides the foundation, and if our children don’t have that foundation, they can fall further and further behind. We know that if a child is not reading by age 8, 3rd grade, it becomes more and more difficult to close the gap," Piper Herbert, a teacher at the school, said.
Many children in low-income neighborhoods lack access to the quality books they need to become competent readers.
AND MANY CHILDREN IN LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS LACK ACCESS TO THE QUALITY BOOKS THEY NEED TO BECOME COMPETENT READERS.
JJJ_8374@09:47:43 Janocus Sanders: “
"The unfortunate thing about it is some of our families can’t go to the store, you know, to purchase books and things of that nature. So, partnership up with you guys to give our kids additional supplies and books I just think is a great thing," Principal Janocus Sanders said.
