CODE READ INC

According to the Department of Education, for 16 million children living in poverty, only one in three has a book in the home. Giving children the opportunity to chose and own their own books has a positive impact on their attitude toward reading as well as their reading and writing skills. By providing books to children who would otherwise not be able to afford them, we intend to bridge the literacy gap between youth from affluent families and those from low income communities. For less than a cup of coffee, Code Read can provide a child with two new books and a book bag. A staggering 123 million of the world's illiterate population are young people. In the U.S. alone, two babies born each minute will grow up to be illiterate. The only behavior measure that correlates significantly with reading scores is the number of books in the home (The Literacy Crisis: False Claims, Real Solutions, 1998). Code Read currently partners with elementary schools to serve youth between 5 and 14, more than 90% of whom qualify for free lunch and whose families live below the poverty level. The majority of youth served are Hispanic (61%) and African American (17%). 60% are female and 40% are male. Code Read also works with LA Family Housing, serving both children and adults, all of whom are living in transitional housing and are low-income. At Childrens Bureau and Department of Children and Family Services events, Code Read provides books for foster youth, the majority of whom also come from low-income backgrounds. It is well documented that increasing access to books and giving children the opportunity to chose what they read improves literacy levels and attitudes toward reading and learning. To date, Code Read has donated over 30,000 new books.