The East Bay Children’s Book Project helps put books into the homes of children who don’t have them. Now a study says that children who grow up in homes with books are more likely to stay in school for longer – and that this may be true whether their parents are highly literate or not. And here’s the best part – you can help do something about it! (Read all the way to the end …)
According to the May 21, 2010 online issue of Science Daily, a 20-year-long study showed that having 500 books in the home can be as important as having university-educated parents in determining how much education a child will receive. But you don’t need a big personal library to have an effect on your child’s education or literacy: according to the study, children with even 20 books in the home got higher levels of education than those without any books. And the effect was greater when the parents had less education.
Are there really families with no books at all in their homes? Sadly, yes. Literacy, and the lack of it, is a huge issue. An estimated one in four English-speaking adults in the United States can’t read well enough to complete a job application. And when money is tight, buying books is low on the list.
That’s where the East Bay Children’s Book Project comes in. Our clients get books into the hands of children who need them. For example, the Families for Literacy Program of the Oakland (California) Public Library’s Second Start Adult Literacy Program gives over 1,000 books a year to the children of adult literacy learners. These children will grow up with books in their homes.
YOU CAN HELP! Organize a book drive for the East Bay Children’s Book Project at your office, school, place of worship, or among friends. Ask a local business to host one of our book collection bags; contact us to find out more. Spread the word: tell your friends who work for organizations benefiting children about us. Or make a donation to help us buy new books and cover our expenses! Support the East Bay Children’s Book Project. We make education happen!
[...] that young children in the U.S. who are exposed to books start school better prepared, and if their families own books, they go farther in school. But as the Times article points out, little children get benefits from picture books that they [...]