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First Book and Barclays Capital Provide Books to New Jersey Children in Need
First Book and Barclays Capital Provide Books to New Jersey Children in Need
Published 03-10-09
Submitted by First Book
WASHINGTON, March 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- First Book today announces that East Orange Community Charter School will receive the first of 15,000 books to be donated to students through a nationwide initiative in partnership with Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays Bank PLC. First Book, a nonprofit providing new books to children in need, and Barclays Capital have come together to provide more than 1,700 books to students at East Orange Community Charter School, increasing the number of books in the school's library by 20%.
Employees of Barclays Capital will host a celebratory reading party with the entire first-grade of East Orange Community Charter School on Tuesday, March 10 at 10:30 a.m. in four classrooms around the school. The 25 employee volunteers will read to the 100 first-grade students, who will each receive a special first edition copy of The Berenstain Bears' Dollars and Sense children's book written to address financial literacy and learning for children. The special edition is co-branded by the First Book Marketplace and Barclays Capital.
Each of the 500 students in the school will receive two books to take home. These will be complemented by additional donations to the school's library, increasing the title selection available to the students by 20%.
"First Book is grateful for the tremendous commitment of partners like Barclays Capital, who join us to bring the power of new books to children from low-income families" First Book President, Kyle Zimmer. "We know that access to books helps create readers for life, and we applaud Barclays Capital for their dedication to creating today's readers and tomorrow's leaders, as well as their enthusiastic support for this special edition, which makes lessons on spending and saving accessible to all children."
Harven T. Dash, Executive Director of East Orange Community Charter School, said, "We are delighted to receive these 1,700 books for our students and library and are immensely appreciative of the work by First Book and Barclays Capital to make this happen. Ensuring our students -- and students across the country -- have access to books is an essential part of their education. This donation will make a tremendous difference to our students for many years to come."
The statistics on access to books highlight the need to significantly increase the availability of books in low-income neighborhoods. According to Susan B. Neuman in the Handbook of Early Literacy Research, while there is an average of 13 books for every child in middle income neighborhoods, there is only one book for every 300 children in low-income neighborhoods. First Book's system of large-scale book donations grants unprecedented access to programs serving children in low-income households, making book ownership a reality rather than a luxury.
Keith Kochie from Barclays Capital said, "Barclays Capital is honored to partner with First Book and East Orange Community Charter School in this project. It is a demonstration of the importance of equipping schools with the necessary tools to prepare our youth to meet the challenges of today's global economy. Barclays Capital is committed to banking on brighter futures, increasing children's financial literacy and helping students of all ages meet their full potential."
About First Book
First Book provides new books to children in need addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy -"“ access to books. An innovative leader in social enterprise, First Book has distributed more than 60 million free and low cost books in thousands of communities. First Book now has offices in the U.S. and Canada. For more information about the nonprofit First Book please visit firstbook.org or call 866-393-1222.
