In celebration of World Literacy Day, Save the Children is proud to announce its summer reading campaign exceeded its 100 million minutes goal in its first year. Read a Story, Change Their Story – 100 Days of Reading began on June 1, and encouraged all children, parents, teachers, librarians, caregivers and adults to log their summer reading minutes at SavetheChildren.org/READ. More than 170 million minutes were logged – the equivalent of more than 118,000 days of reading – resulting in significant support of Save the Children’s work to improve literacy and change young lives across rural America.
“In celebration of our 100th year and knowing what’s at stake for children in the United States when it comes to the achievement gap, Save the Children knew that launching a summer reading program could help close the gap and make transformational change for children,” said Carolyn Miles, CEO of Save the Children. “We are thrilled that Read a Story, Change Their Story resonated with children and families across the U.S. – and in particular in the communities where we work – and look forward to next year’s campaign!”
All children are at risk of the summer slide, meaning they can lose achievement gains made in the previous school year. A child’s summer learning experiences during their elementary school years can impact their success in higher grades, including whether they graduate from high school and move on to college. According to the National Summer Learning Association, children growing up in poverty are at even greater risk – low-income children typically lose two to three months of reading progress each summer.
The Read a Story, Change Their Story – 100 Days of Reading campaign was generously presented by T.J.Maxx, which is celebrating 35 years of partnership with Save the Children’s U.S. Programs. Additional campaign support was provided by Penguin Random House, Brightly and the National Summer Learning Association, which offers content and resources to help parents grow lifelong readers, as well as by partners including, American Girl, HarperCollins Children’s Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Kurzweil, Inc., Mattel and PNC Grow Up Great.
Save the Children plans to lead Read A Story, Change Their Story – 100 Days of Reading again in 2020 as part of the Changing a Life Lasts a Lifetime campaign.