WXYZ DETROIT — Dr. Suess once wrote: “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go!”
With that spirit in mind, Channel 7 and the Scripps Howard Foundation are engaged in a national literacy program we believe will make a difference in our communities. It’s the 4th year of our reading initiative called, “If You Give a Child a Book”. Money donated by our employees, the Foundation and Scripps family members have enabled us to purchase and distribute books for children in need on National Reading Day.
The results have been impressive! Last year, nearly $432-thousand dollars were raised, more than 172-thousand books were passed out and 31-million reading minutes were generated. Here in Detroit, our Channel 7 team members raised nearly $65-thousand for this year’s book drive.
Partnering with Matrix Human Services, we’ll help supplement 17 Head Start centers in the City of Detroit. These libraries will be outfitted with about 6-thousand brand new, age-appropriate and diverse books. A summer reading book fair will also be held for those Head Start programs where another 3-thousand books will be donated. Overall, we’ll purchase about 15-thousand books to be used throughout the year in various schools, non-profits and book fairs in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Counties.
We’re proud that our employees, business leaders, this community and the Scripps Howard Foundation contributed to this worthwhile effort! To help promote reading in your home, go to our WXYZ.com web site for more resources. It’s an easy and rewarding gift that just keeps giving!
I’m Mike Murri, VP & General Manager
Broadcast: January 23 - 26, 2020
