Kids to Kids Literacy Program Expands, Distributes 500,000th Book to At-Risk Children

Literacy Program Expands to Jay Jeffers Elementary

Dec. 12, 2005 - Helping those who need it most—that is what two local charities, "A Hand Up" and "Speedway Children’s Charities" are doing for the children of Jay Jeffers Elementary School, in conjunction with Kids to Kids.

"A Hand Up" raises funds and supports charities that provide help to women and children in need, while "Speedway Children’s Charities" looks for local organizations that are dedicated to serving Southern Nevada's children.

The Kids to Kids literacy project, sponsored by Spread the Word Nevada, recently received a $15,000 donation from "A Hand Up" and a $7,000 contribution from "Speedway Children's Charities" that, together, enabled the children's literacy program to add Jeffers Elementary as their 11th partner school.

Founder, Laurie Porter noted, "The goal of Kids to Kids is to create keep-at-home libraries of books that the children can read over and over, share with family members, and treasure as their very own. These book collections make a real difference in the educational success of the children we serve. We cannot take Kids to Kids to a new school, however, unless we have the books and financial resources to fund the program and keep it going. Because of the generosity from 'A Hand Up' and 'Speedway Children’s Charities,' we knew that we were ready to welcome these 795 students into Kids to Kids."

Once a school is "adopted" by Kids to Kids, in the initial phase of the program, each student is given a canvas tote bag and five books of their choice. Each month, a new book is added to each child’s personal library, and students can trade books with other kids in the program.

Kids to Kids is thrilled that with this distribution of books at Jeffers Elementary, one of these children will receive the 500,000th book to be provided under the program.

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