Dear President Obama:
Along with many reading advocates and individuals who savor the joys of reading, it was gratifying and encouraging to see news stories about your trip to the local Washington, DC bookstore with your daughters over the Thanksgiving holiday. What a great example you set for all parents and caregivers by showing the importance of children having choice in selection of books and actually obtaining books to own, both highly researched principles necessary to building strong reading and literacy skills in children and youth.
However, your trip also points to the serious problem created by your recommendation to Congress to eliminate the $25 million grant Reading Is Fundamental administered for 34 years. We have used the funds to create the most effective and efficient network for getting books to the neediest children in our country; the network is a true public-private partnership to provide children both a choice and a chance to own books of their own. Moreover, RIF creates the opportunity for low-income children to build a love for reading and hone the most basic skill needed to break the cycle of poverty in their lives. Studies show only 1 in 300 poor children have a book, a single book that can be called their own. Without access to this modest amount of federal funding, more than 4 million children living in poverty will not have the opportunity to own a book of their choosing. One book, one choice, one child; we believe that every child deserves to own a book that inspires them.
I hope you will work with RIF in the coming months to urge Congress to institute a new funding stream for national literacy organizations. And I hope that you will continue to demonstrate the importance of books and literacy so that private citizens, foundations, corporations and others will step up to ensure our neediest children are prepared for the workforce.
Sincerely,
Carol Hampton Rasco
Carol Hampton Rasco
President & CEO
No comments:
Post a Comment