Startup money for book organization

Reading is a huge component of academic success; access to books facilitates reading. Nationwide, poor children are 2 1/2 times less likely to read at proficient level than their middle-income classmates. Giving them books helps bridge this gap.

Appalachian Literacy Initiative is a brand-new nonprofit (EIN received, nonprofit status applied for but not yet received) dedicated to putting quality books into the hands of low-income children in the Appalachian region.  Beginning this fall we will will offering students in classrooms who apply for our program their choice of four new books a year from a flyer we send them. (Think Scholastic Book Fairs without the junk!) We are partnered with Parnassus Books, an independent store in Nashville, who will be giving us a discount and shipping the books directly to the schools. We plan to begin with grades 4-6 as this is the age when children who are poor readers begin to pull away from books, at precisely the time they need them most.  anticipate a cost of $30 per student per year. The number of classrooms we will be able to serve is dependent on the amount of money we can raise. This is the very first step--we'll be starting more formal fundraising efforts as well as applying for grants. Thank you for your support! We are extremely grateful,

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, Director