Research shows that children who read more books have better general knowledge, verbal abilities, reading comprehension/speed/accuracy, spelling skill and school achievement. In a study of nearly 100,000 U.S. school children, access to printed materials was the key variable affecting reading acquisition.

Promising Pages envisions a world where all children have home libraries of self-selected books, can see themselves reflected in the books they read, and have made reading a joyful habit for a lifetime.   Driven by this vision, the mission of Promising Pages is to collect new and donated books and share them with children living in the Charlotte Area Book Desert.  A Book Desert is an area where there are few if any books in individual homes. Promising Pages works to create a culture of book sharing and ownership, and with their donors, volunteers and community partners, are working to flood the Book Deserts in the Charlotte area.

All children need books in their homes in order to grow academically, but there are an estimated 60,000 children in the Charlotte area living in a book desert. Home libraries are often seen as a luxury for under-resourced children and families in our community. Promising Pages collects new and donated books and distributes them to students and organizations, with the goal of eliminating the book desert and providing a free resource to those that need it most. According to their website, 1 314 171 books have been shared to date.

As you can imagine, our friends at Promising Pages are always in need of and collecting new and gently used children's books and needs volunteers to process the donations. Volunteers help clean and process the 270,000+ books that go through the warehouse before they are distributed to the 54,000+ students and 250+ nonprofit partners and organizations they serve.  If you would like to volunteer, visit the Promising Pages website and follow the volunteer link;   https://promising-pages.org/volunteer/ .  The website also has links to hosting a book drive, a new book wish list, drop off locations around the area as well as some opportunities to craft some cool bookmarks at home.

The “Books on Break Program” (May until the first week of June) is currently in progress. This is an evidence-based program that addresses summer learning loss or the summer slide. Twenty-three book fairs will be held at area Title 1 Schools and 65,000 free books for summer reading will be shared.   Over 11,000 students will get to choose 5 books to keep and read over the summer.  Check out the website to donate and get involved and make a difference in your community.  

"Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift." – Kate DiCamillo