Texas Students to Get 30,000 Free Books as ReadMobile Rolls Across State

Pearson Foundation donating 30,000 books in thirty days for Texas school children

San Antonio, TX, October 20, 2010 – A campaign to give away more than 30,000 books in thirty days to Texas school children is driving its way across the state in the We Give Books ReadMobile.

Thousands of school children from El Paso to the Valley are receiving free books to help start home libraries. The statewide "We Give Books" campaign is a major effort by the Pearson Foundation, along with Penguin, to equip Texas families and school libraries with print and online books for children who may not have a home library of their own.

In addition to the 30,000 books being given away in Texas, the national We Give Books campaign has donated more than 81,000 books around the globe to date. We Give Books, a new digital program created by the Pearson Foundation and the Penguin Group, enables anyone with Internet access to put books in the hands of children by reading a children's book online. For each book read online, We Give Books donates a book to a children's literacy group in the United States or around the world.

"The importance of reading to young children cannot be emphasized enough, and with strapped family budgets, it can be difficult for many students to have their very own new books," said Mark Nieker, president of the Pearson Foundation. "Providing children books of their own shows them that the adults in their lives view reading as vitally important, and helps them start a home library. Research shows that children's success in school is related to how many books there are in the home."

We Give Books aims to help young children, along with their families, understand the power of reading and the amazing gift of putting a book in the hands of a child. Children and families can also access a free digital collection of children's books online anytime at http://www.wegivebooks.org.

As one component of its We Give Books global initiative, the Pearson Foundation is hosting a month of We Give Books reading celebrations in schools across Texas, including the areas of Abilene, Brownsville, El Paso, Fort Worth, Garland, Harlingen, Houston, Laredo, McAllen, and San Antonio, where students will receive free books.

About the Pearson Foundation

The Pearson Foundation, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit, extends Pearson's commitment to education by partnering with leading nonprofit, civic, and business organizations to provide financial, organizational, and publishing assistance across the globe. The foundation aims to make a difference by sponsoring innovative educational programs and extending its educational expertise to help in classrooms and in local communities. More information on the Pearson Foundation can be found at www.pearsonfoundation.org.

About We Give Books

We Give Books is a new philanthropic program from Penguin and the Pearson Foundation that helps children become lifelong readers and givers. Together, Penguin and the Pearson Foundation support literacy worldwide through programs like We Give Books, Booktime, and Jumpstart's Read for the Record – engaging thousands of communities and touching millions of lives. Learn more about We Give Books at www.wegivebooks.org.

Media Contact

Lisa Kinney
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