A radio station in Lansing, Mich., is giving away 50,000 new books this holiday season to kids in need, the AP reports.
The reading kits come from WKAR, a community radio station that's been on the air for 100 years.
"It's a powerful, powerful initiative, and something truly dear to my heart to be able to say, 'We want to stand with you and make sure that your home library is just as robust as the library within your community,'" says Robin Pizzo, the station's director of education.
Last year, the goal was 10,000 kits, and Pizzo challenged the team and partners to double that number this year.
The kits come with activities and lessons for kids in pre-K through fourth grade, as well as high-quality new books.
The reading kits are given out as part of the station's educational services, MLive.com reports.
Pizzo says the state of literacy in mid-Michigan is at a "point of crisis," and the reading kit program is an effort to turn the tide.
"Michigan has for over 14 years not made any gains in literacy performance for fourth graders, and Michigan, unfortunately, has remained one of the lowest-performing states with minimal growth in Read the Entire Article
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