Huge book giveaway targets illiteracy among children

More books in the hands of young people. That's something educators, librarians and parents can get behind. A not-for-profit First Book has paired with Community Caring Council to offer books to children in need.

About 40,000 books are up for grabs, 20 of which may go to individual educators who register through First Book's Books on Wheels. To qualify, 2,000 educators must sign up before the Oct. 1 deadline. To be sure that the books land in the hands of those who need them most, educators must provide demographic information about their students. A tractor trailer is waiting to deliver the reading material.

Many are calling education the civil rights issue of our time, and literacy is key to tackling this issue, so we encourage everyone to get signed up and help give students the chance to excel.

First Book's website states, "We don't want to fight illiteracy -- we want to end it." As part of its efforts to accomplish this goal, the organization is not limiting its generosity to traditional educators. Educators come in various forms. As a Southeast Missourian story highlighted, "School districts; early childhood programs; military family support programs; libraries and museums; shelters and clinics; faith-based organizations; after-school programs and others who work with children in need" are eligible to take advantage of the thousands of books covering a plethora of genres. That's a wide window, so if you work with children in need, be sure to sign up at register.firstbook.org/?rgst=THRIVE.

Stacy Taylor, asset coordinator at Community Caring Council, said, "Kids will choose to read if they have things they enjoy reading about," adding, "With 40,000 options, they will have books at their disposal that are something that definitely interests them."

We support this program because it provides education and entertainment to youngsters. From teachers' use in classrooms to students taking books home to Christmas gifts, so much good accompanies books and literacy.

While we encourage educators to register for the free books now and take advantage of this program, we also remind everyone that our local libraries also have thousands of books and contain great children's sections. When the tractor trailer rolls out of town, our libraries remain, and librarians are there to help stoke the flames of literary enthusiasm that last a lifetime.