First Book

UPDATE: Thank you to everyone who contributed to our project! We reached our initial goal of $1,000 on November 11 and were able to make our first purchase of over 450 books. We've increased our goal to $2,500 and with the support of the Temple University community can provide about 800 total books to young children. Thank you to everyone for your continued support!

For as little as $1 you can give the gift of reading to a child in need in North Philadelphia. A Temple University study found that there were only 33 books per 10,000 children living in low-income Philadelphia neighborhoods. You can change that for less than the price of a cup of coffee. Students and professors are partnering with the social service agency, Women, Infants & Children (WIC) to distribute children’s books to low-income families in North Philadelphia. We aim to raise $1,500 to provide 500 children with their first book. The books purchased with this funding will be distributed during events at WIC clinics. The events will be widely publicized through the WIC website and clinic offices. At the events, Temple students will engage children in animated readings and book giveaways.

Click here for more information on fighting childhood illiteracy.