Alvin Irby, Barbershop Books
Tax deductible
2023 TOP 10 CNN HERO
The Elevate Prize Foundation will be matching donations to all of the 2023 Top 10 CNN Heroes up to $50,000 per hero.
After the pandemic, math and reading scores in the U.S. fell to levels not seen for decades, yet Black children have long lagged behind in literacy, with only 17% of Black 4th graders able to read proficiently. Alvin Irby is working to change that. A former first grade teacher, Irby believes that giving kids the opportunity and encouragement to read for fun is vitally important. Today, his program brings books somewhere that Black boys visit regularly: barbershops. Since 2013, his nonprofit, Barbershop Books, has distributed more than 50,000 books to more than 200 shops across the country – impacting more than 10,000 children a year.
Read about Alvin on CNN.com.
Watch CNN Hero Alvin Irby's video here.
The names of non-anonymous donors and their donation amounts may be published on air during CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute
Co-organizers (3)
Alvin Irby
Organizer
New York, NY
Barbershop Books, Inc.
Beneficiary
Michael Kaplan
Co-organizer
Lindsay Shepard
Co-organizer