LPWire: Disney and First Book Deliver the Magic of Reading to Nearly 7,000 Disadvantaged Campers
Disney and First Book Deliver the Magic of Reading to Nearly 7,000 Disadvantaged Campers This Summer
'Read Around the Campfire(TM)' Pilot
Program Debuts Across the Country
First Book, a national children's literacy organization, and Disney have joined
forces to launch a new program this summer to deliver the magic of reading to
children from low-income families nationwide. The program, called Read Around
the Campfire, will provide three new books per camper to select camps around the
country that serve disadvantaged children. The objective of Read Around the
Campfire is to help the children minimize the loss of reading skills often
experienced over the summer months.
Read Around the Campfire is being introduced as a pilot program in 2005. The
program will provide more than 20,000 books to 6,700 children this summer. The
books will be incorporated into the camp program and then taken home by the
children to keep. To enhance the program's success, the camps will receive
storytelling tips to share with the counselors in addition to the free books.
The storytelling tips are designed to encourage camper involvement, give ideas
on how to extend the storytelling time to other activities at camp and make the
stories come alive. Read Around the Campfire is made possible through the
generosity of DisneyHand, worldwide outreach for The Walt Disney Company, in
partnership with Disney Publishing Worldwide, which will supply the books.
"We are excited to be working with Disney this summer to share the magic of
reading with thousands of children," said Kyle Zimmer, president of First Book.
"During summer vacation, children from low-income families experience
disproportionate decreases in reading achievement. By offering hands-on reading
practice outside of the classroom in a fun and creative setting, we are hoping
to help children improve their reading skills," Zimmer added.
"The camps we're working with often provide the only opportunity that thousands
of disadvantaged youth have to attend a summer program," stated Kathy Franklin,
vice president, Disney Worldwide Outreach. "One of the best and most memorable
parts of the camp experience is sharing campfire stories. This program will
extend the magical experience of campfire storytime into meaningful learning
experience."
"The response from the camps has been phenomenal," said Jennifer Kaplan, First
Book senior director of Corporative Initiatives. We have camps participating
from Alaska to Florida and California to Maine. I think this reflects the
critical need for this program," Kaplan added.
According to Leslie Warren Lin, development director of the Fiver Foundation in
New York, camps serving disadvantaged children often expend substantial
resources to supply books to their campers. "Last year, we spent over $2,500 on
books so that each child could leave Camp Fiver with a book of his or her very
own," commented Lin. Many of our kids do not have access to quality,
age-appropriate reading materials at home, and the public libraries in their
communities have limited resources. The books we receive from Disney and First
Book will be treasured by our kids."
About First Book
First Book is an award-winning national nonprofit that gives books to children
from low-income families. In neighborhoods across the country, First Book unites
leaders from all sectors to provide books to children in literacy programs,
housing project initiatives, after-school programs and other community-based
efforts reaching children living below the poverty line. The First Book National
Book Bank, a subsidiary program of First Book, is the first centralized system
enabling publishers to donate large quantities of new books and educational
materials online to reach millions of children in need. First Book has provided
more than 30 million new books to children in need in hundreds of communities
nationwide. For more information about First Book, please visit
http://www.firstbook.org .
About DisneyHand
DisneyHand, the worldwide outreach program for The Walt Disney Company, is
dedicated to making the dreams of families and children a reality through public
service initiatives, community outreach and volunteerism in the areas of
learning, compassion, the arts and the environment. The Walt Disney Company,
together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a diversified, international
family entertainment and media enterprise which includes Walt Disney Parks and
Resorts, The Walt Disney Studios, ABC, Inc., ESPN, Disney Channel, Disney
Stores, television and radio stations and Internet web sites. For more
information on Disney's corporate public service efforts, please visit the Web
site at http://www.disneyhand.com
--Posted August 8, 2005
Source: DisneyHand