The Scholastic Book Club is getting Missouri students to read more so that needy children can benefit.
Scholastic Book Club’s main distribution hub is in Jefferson City, and workers there will soon be shipping even more boxes down the line. Hundreds of Missouri schools are participating in the Classrooms Care project, according to spokeswoman Judy Newman.
She says kids will spend the next few months reading and finish 100 books, Scholastic will donate up to a million books to kids who don’t have books of their own.
Newman says Missouri was a central location chosen for a distribution hub in 1968, and that our state continues to play an integral role in Scholastic’s mission.
Two ambassadors of reading this year are promoting the Classrooms Care program, NFL players Eli and Peyton Manning … yet another reason for kids to get excited about reading, says Newman.
Newman says since the program began in 2001, Scholastic has given away more than 9 million books, and that more than 5 million kids participate in about 250,000 classrooms each year.
Newman says Scholastic has nonprofits partners that help Scholastic find where the most need is, and it spans urban cities, rural communities, and reservations, where books go to needy children.
Jessica Machetta reports [Download/listen MP3]
