United Way of the Midlands just received a $10,000 grant from the Kum & Go Company to help kids improve their reading skills.
Kathy O’Hara, Public Relations Director for United Way of the Midlands, says the money will be invested into a program called Book Trust.
O’Hara says Book Trust is a nationwide program that strives to ensure that children are reading at the level they should be by the time they finish the 3rd grade.
As part of the program, each child receives a $7 monthly budget they can use to purchase books through the Scholastic Reading Club.
"Book Trust is one of the many ways United Way is supporting grade level reading efforts. And that is to help make sure kids are literate and reading up to grade level at all points along their spectrum, especially in 3rd grade because that’s a critical time. The statistics bear out that a child is more likely to drop out of high school if they don’t read proficiently by the 3rd grade.”
O’Hara says Book Trust is part of the United Way’s “Classroom Ready” focus which includes literacy, school attendance and supports for students.
For more information, the website is booktrust.org.