Appalachian Literacy Initiative
Our goal is to improve the lives of Appalachian children in need by increasing their access to quality children’s books.
The Difference a Book Can Make
A child who learns to read proficiently has a great advantage over one that does not. If children lack access to books, they do not learn to read as well. Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? It’s substantiated by a lot of current research: underprivileged children need more access to books than they currently have.
- 83% of low-income students do not read at a proficient level by the end of third grade.
- 61% of low-income students have no books at all in their own homes.
Students that don’t reach proficiency by the end of fourth grade are four times more likely than their proficient classmates to drop out of high school.
Our Program
We live in Appalachia, a beautiful part of the country with a history of entrenched poverty. There are small rural schools here without libraries. Towns without libraries. Children who grow up without ever owning a book of their own.
We are changing that. We want to break this cycle.
With our flagship program, teachers receive a free classroom set of books four times a year. The students then get to choose a book from those selections to add to their personal collection at home. At the end of the school year, teachers will have added 32 books to their classroom libraries and students will have 4 books of their own to keep.
Outside of our program, when funds allow, we offer free book fairs and give out free books at community events.
Our Work
Our mission is to ignite a lifelong passion for reading and promote academic success for students in Appalachia.
You can view our Annual Reports using the links below.
Appalachian Literacy Initiative 