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In Honor of National Literacy Month, Reading Is Fundamental and Macy’s Partner to Combat Nation’s Literacy Crisis

Free Resources, Including Newly Developed Digital Tools to Support Social and Emotional Learning are Now Available

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Reading Is Fundamental and International Paper Celebrate the Power of Reading with Multi-year Partnership to Bring Books for Ownership Program to More than 400 Schools Across 28 Cities and Matching Grants Program in Select States Beginning 2019

Partnership Builds on Impact 10,931 Students Reached with 36,072 Books in 2018-19 School Year

Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) announces the recipients of its 2019 Books for Ownership matching grants that support local organizations who are making a difference in the lives of children across the country. Made possible in part by the generous support of Macy's, grant recipients will receive books and aligned literacy resources to implement RIF's flagship Books for Ownership program during the 2019-2020 school year. This year's applicants reached new records for both the number of students who will receive books and the number of states represented via RIF's matching grant awards.

Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the nation's largest nonprofit organization for children's literacy, today announced that it is the exclusive new home of LeVar Burton Kids' Skybrary, an interactive library of high-quality digital books and video explorations designed to engage young readers and foster a lifelong love of learning. Renowned actor and education advocate LeVar Burton's Skybrary is to become part of RIF's unparalleled digital library of books and supplemental learning and reading resources beginning February 26, 2019.

Give a child a book and their opportunities are endless! Read on to learn why one book-loving child turned journalist and editor knows that supporting children's literacy is critical during the holiday season and all year long!

What’s your earliest memory of loving to read? When panelists were asked that question at the 2018 National Reading Coalition by Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) last week, their answers resonated strongly with the book-loving audience: hiding under the covers with a flashlight to finish a book well past bedtime, diving into the pages of a Nancy Drew classic, or heading to the local library in summer months to snag the next adventure on the reading list.

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Sonia Sotomayor, United States Senator Patty Murray and Children’s Book Author and Illustrator, Lulu Delacre Honored for Children’s Literacy Efforts

The inability of 25 million U.S. children and teens to read proficiently, and the impact of literacy challenges in the workplace, became the catalyst for an exchange of ideas and experiences as part of Reading Is Fundamental's National Reading Coalition gathering held in D.C. Read on for the top seven lessons learned at the National Reading Coalition.

Reading Is Fundamental and Macy's introduce new resources to help parents and educators support childhood literacy.

RIF is proud to announce that we have been named a 2018 Harris Poll Brand of the Year in the Youth Nonprofit category. The Harris Poll’s 30th annual EquiTrend Study (EQ) reveals the strongest brands across the media, travel, financial, automotive, entertainment, retail, restaurant, technology, household and nonprofit industries, based on consumer response.

Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) announces the recipients of its 2018 Summer Success matching grant program to support local literacy champions who are making a difference in the lives of children across the country.

Tina Fey teams up with the nation's largest children's literacy non profit, Reading Is Fundamental to bring awareness to the alarming literacy crisis in the U.S. after learning to love books as a child. Read on to get the full story. 

Giving students choices promotes engagement and excitement in reading. Read on to learn how to support literacy in the classroom in this Eschool News feature written by RIFs own President and CEO, Alicia.

Curious how to get your child reading on grade level? Read on to learn about the changing role of literacy by RIF's Chief Program and Content Officer, Ed DeLeon.

Learn about the literacy crisis and what you can do to plan for your child's future. Read on for the full artcile authored by RIF's President and CEO, Alicia. 

Variety announced the honorees for its upcoming Power of Women: New York event, which recognizes philanthropic women across the entertainment industry and the work they’ve achieved with their causes. Power of Women: NY honorees include Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress and writer Tina Fey who selected Reading Is Fundamental as her charitable organization of choice.

READING IS FUNDAMENTAL KICKS OFF NATIONAL READING MONTH WITH THE MILLION BOOK MARCH CAMPAIGN AND

RIF’S NEW LITERACY CENTRAL APP

(Washington DC – February 8, 2018) Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) announces the recipients of its 2018 Summer Success matching grant program to support local literacy champions who are making a difference in the lives of children across the country. Grant recipients will receive a combination of books and literacy resources to implement the Summer Success program in schools, YMCAs, community organizations, and youth clubs in more than 20 communities across 13 states, impacting more than 2,800 children.

Washington DC, January 22, 2018 - Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) is proud to partner with marathon reader, 4-year-old Caleb Green and his family to support disadvantaged Chicago area schools. Caleb made news when he read 100 books in a single day and his parents shared his accomplishments on Facebook Live, captivating children and adults everywhere.

Reading Is Fundamental is excited to team up with Peter Rabbit to celebrate Blue Jacket Day, February 3, 2018. For every social media post with #bluejacket and #PeterRabbit a book will be donated to RIF to support a child in need. Want to get the full story? Read more here!

Check out this awesome review of our new digital destnation, Literacy Central. Our partner, Cheryl, a K-2 teacher and blogger loves to implement leveled reading passages, lesson plans and literacy games in her classroom. Read on to see how Literacy Central can work for you!

As Chris Paul and James Harden made their way through Null Middle School and past the 10,000 books to be distributed, they could hear enough screams for it to seem that there was a middle schooler there for every book. There weren't that many, but the day's event and announcement could impact plenty for years to come.

Read On

(Washington DC - November 2, 2017) Reading is Fundamental (RIF) announces the recipients of its 2017 matching grant program to support local literacy champions who are making a difference in the lives of children across the country. Grant recipients will receive a combination of books and literacy resources to implement Books for Ownership or Read for Success programs in schools, health clinics, community organizations, and libraries in more than 100 communities across 37 states, impacting more than 145,000 children.

WASHINGTON, D.C., (October 18, 2017)- Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) and the Junior League of Washington (JLW) are teaming up to support Washington D.C’s homeless youth.

Over the next three years, the Junior League of Washington and Reading Is Fundamental are partnering to bring books, literacy resources, and activities to children and families served by Coalition for the Homeless and Kia’s Place, kicking off on October 21, 2017.

Christian and Skyler were anxious. The 5-year-old Texas twins were set to enter kindergarten — until Hurricane Harvey ripped their world. Their school is among five north of Corpus Christi that remain shuttered, having lost heating and air conditioning systems, roofs, electrical systems and much of what ordinarily defines a schoolhouse, including children, teachers and books.  Other schools had no room for Christian and Skyler. Click here to read the full story. 

Reading Is Fundamental launches new digital destination, Literacy Central, featuring high-quality supplemental materials supporting classic and popular K-6 books free for parents and educators. 

Between 2013-2016, McDonald’s USA distributed 54M books to kids with plans to distribute 20M more books during the upcoming promotion.

Washington, D.C. - June 19, 2017 – With schools across the country out for the summer, many children have limited access to books, making it difficult for them to build or maintain their literacy skills. The Voices for Literacy collaborative has launched a new virtual book drive that will provide new books to children in need.

Washington, D.C. – This past weekend, as families nationwide celebrated the impact that mothers have on their children’s lives, the Voices for Literacy collaborative launched a new online quiz highlighting the influence of maternal education levels on children’s future academic success.

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Johnson receives the 2017 Literacy Champion Award by Reading is Fundamental

Washington, D.C. - March 02, 2017 - The National Education Association (NEA) kicked off the 20th anniversary of “NEA’s Read Across America Day” with a reading event in Washington, DC today. Joining NEA were several of the nation’s leading literacy organizations including Reading is Fundamental (RIF) and First Book along with actor, author and literacy advocate LeVar Burton and 12-year-old Marley Dias, an advocate for diversity in literature who founded #1000BlackGirlBooks. The event celebrated Dr. Seuss’ 113th birthday, and kicked off the Association’s national Read Across America campaign, during which an estimated 45 million educators, parents and students will participate in events nationwide.

Washington, D.C. – February 28, 2017 – Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) and actor, director, author and lifelong literacy advocate, LeVar Burton are teaming up to inspire the next generation of readers during National Reading Month. RIF will present the 2017 RIF Literacy Champion Award to LeVar at the Championing Children’s Literacy event on February 28th in honor of his incredible work to engage all children in the power of literacy. RIF’s Literacy Champion Award recognizes the remarkable contributions of individuals in the field of children’s literacy and the advancement of RIF’s mission.

Washington, DC and Seattle, WA - February 16, 2017 - Amazon and Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the nation’s largest literacy organization, have joined forces to empower Amazon customers to help ignite a passion for reading among children across the U.S. who may have limited or no access to books in their homes. From now through March 4, customers can send a book from a Wish List of 50 RIF-designated book titles on Amazon.com that the non-profit will supply to children in need across the country.

Washington, D.C. – The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy is proud to announce the creation of Voices for Literacy. This newly formed collaborative brings together a coalition of five organizations that are committed to expanding opportunities for children and adults to improve their lives through literacy.

Washington, DC - Feb. 9, 2017 – A powerful Business Roundtable literacy report that addresses the increasingly acute “skills gap” U.S. companies are facing and offers a cohesive policy agenda to improve early reading proficiency marks a critical call to action for the business community and policymakers alike, according to Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the country’s leading literacy champion for children’s literacy.

Washington, D.C. – December 12, 2016 – Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the nation’s largest children’s literacy organization, has been selected as Macmillan Children's Publishing Group’s charity of choice for the 50th anniversary celebration of Bill Martin Jr and Eric Carle’s classic Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? To join in the celebration, RIF and Macmillan invite book lovers to post a picture of themselves reading Brown Bear on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using #BrownBearEverywhere. For each post during the week of December 10 – December 17, Macmillan will donate $1, up to $2,500, to RIF to help get books to kids who need them most.  In honor of RIF and Brown Bear’s shared 50th Anniversary, Macmillan will also donate 5,050 copies of Brown Bear and 10,000 additional children’s book titles to RIF for distribution in local communities throughout 2017.

Los Angeles, CA - Nov. 3, 2016 - /PRNewswire/ - LeVar Burton's RRKidz, Inc., the home of Reading Rainbow®, announced today it will donate Skybrary® Family subscriptions to Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), which provides free books and literacy resources to economically disadvantaged communities in the United States. For every Skybrary Family subscription that is purchased between now and the end of the year, a subscription will be donated.

Washington, D.C. – September 15, 2016 – Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the nation’s largest children’s literacy organization, celebrated its 50th anniversary of inspiring children to read, learn and grow by hosting a virtual birthday party at Amidon-Bowen Elementary School in Washington, D.C. Award-winning singer and actress, Jordin Sparks; passionate advocate, actor and musician, Tray Chaney; and notable children’s author, Tara Lazar joined D.C. Council Members, parents, and DC Public School officials to commemorate the milestone. The event featured live performances, a Happy Birthday sing along, a children’s story read aloud and birthday cake for fourth grade students. In addition, all of the students at the school received birthday-inspired activities and free books, including Dr. Seuss’ Happy Birthday to You! and Tara Lazar’s Normal Norman. The anniversary celebration was sponsored by State Farm®, who made a $10,000 donation for books for the school library.

August 25 - While the national high school graduation rate is at an all-time high, hitting more than 82 percent last year, the graduate rates for students of color, students with special needs, English Language Learners, and low-income students are still lower than those of the overall student population, according to the latest Building a Grad Nation Report. A recent study commissioned by MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership, reported that mentoring has significant positive effects on two early warning indicators that a student may be falling off-track: absenteeism and behavior problems, suggesting that mentoring, along with other research-based interventions and reforms, is an effective tool in increasing graduation rates, especially among at-risk youth.

Washington, D.C. – August 18, 2016 – Reading Is Fundamental, the nation’s largest children’s literacy organization, is pleased to announce the appointment of Alicia Levi as RIF’s new President and CEO. She succeeds Carol H. Rasco who is retiring after 15 years of leadership and service. Ms. Levi, an education industry veteran, joins RIF at a pivotal time of growth and innovation with such programs as Read for Success.

Washington, D.C. – June 13, 2016 – Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the nation’s largest children’s literacy organization, unveiled a new Public Service Announcement (PSA) designed to encourage parents and adults to read aloud to children, an important part of early child development. Intended to inspire kids and adults alike, the new PSA, titled READ, is a whimsical approach to literacy showing how your voice can spark a child’s imagination in the most unexpected ways. And, we know that when children are inspired to read and they have books in the home, especially books they select themselves, learning has no boundaries.

As kids spend time outside the classroom this summer, PBS KIDS will release all-new content and resources to help keep them active and encourage exploration at home and outdoors with their favorite characters. As part of its annual summer learning initiative, PBS KIDS will air all-new specials and episodes from ODD SQUAD, NATURE CAT and READY JET GO! beginning in June, and will offer free digital resources at pbsparents.org/summer to make learning fun all summer long.

Washington, D.C. – May 18, 2016 – Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the nation’s largest children’s literacy organization, launched its summer reading campaign aimed at inspiring children and families to read and have fun together between school years. Research shows that all children are at risk of losing some of the learning they obtained during the school year over the summer. For students from economically-disadvantaged communities, as many as 80 percent are at risk of academically falling behind. RIF’s family-friendly booklists and activities are fun and engaging ways to maintain reading ability throughout the summer. In addition, RIF continues its 50th anniversary activities through its partnership with ustyme to give away a billion free e-books to anyone with access to a computer, tablet or mobile phone. Whether families are planning a staycation at home or a vacation on the go, reading and sharing stories together is easier than ever.

Mineola, NY - May 2016 - In honor of their 75th anniversary, Dover Publications is pleased to announce that they will make a donation of a percentage of all sales generated on doverpublications.com on the date of their anniversary, May 18, 2016, to the children’s charitable organization Reading Is Fundamental.

Washington, D.C. – May 6, 2016 – Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the nation’s largest children’s literacy organization, celebrated its 50th anniversary by hosting a birthday bash gala at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, D.C. The gala was presented by long-time partner, Scholastic, Inc. Angie Goff, anchor and reporter for NBC4, served as Master of Ceremonies. Throughout the evening, tributes were given to those who have dedicated their time and unwavering support to RIF, including RIF’s 50th anniversary co-hosts, Margaret McNamara Pastor, daughter of RIF founder, Margaret McNamara; Lynda Johnson Robb, original RIF Board member and literacy advocate; and Carol B. Sisco, former RIF Board member and champion for children. In addition, RIF bestowed the 2016 Book Champion Award to U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) for his leadership on behalf of RIF and legislative priorities on Capitol Hill. RIF also recognized multiple organizations, corporations and foundations which do remarkable work to empower young minds and advance childhood literacy.

Washington, D.C. - April 26, 2016 - Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the nation’s largest children’s literacy organization, announced the recipients of a Read for Success grant to promote summer reading, and help improve reading proficiency for early grade school students. The literacy program, which launches this week, will support more than 2,000 students in 12 communities from 14 schools and organizations nationwide. Eleven of the program sites are partners with the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (GLR), a collaborative effort of funders, nonprofit partners, business leaders, government agencies, states and communities to ensure that many more children from low-income families succeed in school. With 65 percent of fourth-grade students reading at or below the basic level needed to succeed academically, the need for programs like Read for Success to combat the summer learning slide is as great as ever to ensure students remain proficient in reading throughout the year.