On June 24, Metroparks Toledo and the Toledo Federation of Teachers gave away 40,000 books as part of the American Federation of Teachers “Reading Opens the World” campaign. The family literacy and book fair was held at the future home of the Glass City Enrichment Center at Glass City Metropark.
The objective is to place books into the hands of families and students in need and to avoid the summer learning slump while school is out.
The campaign reinforces the importance of reading and literacy as a foundational skill necessary for virtually everything.
The event shows students that reading can indeed be fun. It makes books more easily accessible to everyone, and parents and educators were supplied with the tools and resources to help children learn to read and in turn, read to learn.
Books were available on a first-come, first-served basis. Caregivers were able to choose up to 10 free books per child, while educators and school staff selected up to 40 free books for their classrooms or programs.
The campaign was launched “to spread the joy of reading with the goal of distributing two million free books to families’ home libraries and educator’s classrooms.”
Another goal is to provide educators and school personnel with the tools and professional development that translate the science of reading into usable resources.
The crusade has distributed more than 1.4 million books at 250-plus events nationwide. ~Lauren Kuhr
