A significant marker for educational success occurs when most children are only 8-9 years old. How well a child reads at the end of third grade can affect the rest of her education.

Through third grade, students are learning to read. Beginning in fourth grade, students are reading to learn-using their reading skills to gain information, solve problems and think critically. A child who can’t read at grade level by third grade is four times less likely to graduate from high school. If this same child lives in poverty, 13 times less likely to graduate.

The Scripps Howard Foundation is “Giving light. Changing lives” for children in need nationwide through its “If You Give a Child a Book … ” campaign.

Scripps’ Local and National Media brands partner with low-income schools and local nonprofit groups that work directly with children and families to present the books through the “Big Book Giveaway.”

In the program’s first three years, Scripps Howard Foundation and employees of The E.W. Scripps Company donated more than 180,000 new books to children facing poverty in their communities. Each Scripps market selects low-income schools and nonprofits in their communities to distribute the books to ensure they go to children who need them most.

Please join us in our mission to empower children in need with the literacy tools they need to be successful in school and in life by donating to our “If You Give a Child a Book … ” campaign.