(WXYZ) — September is National Literacy Month and in honor of that, 7 News Detroit and the Scripps Howard Fund are holding a day-long campaign to raise money to buy books for kids right here in metro Detroit.
It's our annual "If You Give a Child a Book" campaign because giving children books can plant the seeds for future success.
RELATED: Donate to our 'If You Give A Child A Book' campaign here
Lauryn Sides is a fourth-grader with a growing library at home.
“What do you love most about reading?” I asked.
"The part where I can hear different people's thoughts," Lauryn said.
She was able to pick out six new, age-appropriate books last year at our Scholastic Book Fair thanks to donors through the Scripps Howard Fund's "If You Give a Child a Book" campaign.
"Some books, I can picture the adventures in my head," she said.
Jillian Hamilton is Lauryn's principal at Crothers Elementary. The Center Line school is one of our partner title one schools serving low-income neighborhoods where some families may lack access to quality books.
"Kids get to pick their own books at these book fairs. Why is that significant?" I asked.
"I mean, it's huge. If students come in and they get to pick their favorite books or things that interest them, they'll be more motivated to read," Hamilton said.
The Scripps Howard Fund started the campaign nine years ago, and in that time, more than a million books have been donated across the U.S. The goal is to give underserved children living in poverty books to build their own home libraries – books that can open their imaginations, improve literacy rates and help break the cycle of pverty.
"And the focus really is on that kindergarten through third grade range. Why is that?" I asked Kaeli Erskine from the Scripps Howard Fund.
"We know that from kindergarten to about the beginning of third grade, children are learning how to read. And then something switches about halfway through in that third grade year, and children then begin to read to learn," Erskine said.
I've been at some of these book fairs and it's really wonderful to see kids browsing the shelves and really enjoying the power of choice.
"How cool is it that you get to pick out your own books and then get to keep them at home?" I asked Lauryn.
"It's really, really cool. So, I can read them over and over and over again," she said.
Our goal is to give each student at our partner schools 10 age-appropriate, brand-new books per year.
The best part? All day on Wednesday, the Scripps Howard Fund will be matching your donations up to $175,000. 100% of the money donated stays here in our community to buy books for children in need.
Our co-workers at 7 News Detroit have already donated, and it's a cause close to our hearts.
