The Roads to Reading Children’s Literacy Programming Initiatives

 The Roads to Reading Initiative was established in 2001 to assist literacy organizations and programs in rural and small communities that are underserved. The Roads to Reading Children’s Literacy Initiatives serves organizations nationally that increase literacy among the nation’s poor. Among our several programs are the following:  The Bi-Annual Competitive Book Donation Program, Books for Kids, Book Bag Program, The Director’s Discretionary Book Donation Program, and All Children Need Books. Each program has distinctive guidelines that serve different types of organizations, groups and populations. Please go to our program pages to obtain detailed information on each program.

a The Bi-Annual Program- is designed to donate books to programs in small and rural communities only.

The organizational budget limit to be eligible is currently set at $150,000 annually. The community where there organization is located must be an underserved community. It is not enough to have a certain number of families within a community that are underserved to qualify. The population where the organization is located must be under 50,000. The program must have a strong focus on remedial reading or tutoring component in the program. Book Bag programs, gifts and give-a-way, events or book clubs request will not be granted through this program. Also School Districts, Lead Agencies or umbrella agencies may not apply for donations. Each site within group agencies or districts must apply for donations separately. The books that are available through this program are appropriate for ages three to young adult. The books are hard and soft cover. Currently all the books in this program are available in English only. Only organizations within the Continental United States.

are eligible for donations.

a The Books for Kids Program- Donates up to 50 new books to Non-profits and Daycares. The books that are donated through this program have been donated to the Roads to Reading Initiative by major publishers of children’s books.  The Books for Kids program provides books in either Spanish or English for children ages 4 to 9. The books are not bilingual. Through this program there are a limited number of Math, Geography and History textbooks available for children ages 9-13. The organizations must be a Federally Tax Exempt and must provide us with a copy of the 501(c) 3 or copy of their State Daycare License. Submitting a copy of your States Sales Tax Exemption Certificate is not sufficient proof of your non-profit status. Public and Charter school are not eligible to participate in this program. Non-profits that administer programs on public school property are not eligible for this program either. Books from this program will more than likely have remainder or the publisher’s donation sticker attached to them. There is a $30.00 shipping and handling fee.*

a The Director’s Discretionary Book Donation Program (DDBDP) - The 2007-2008 Director’s Discretionary Book Donations will support non-profit and childcare facilities in Kentucky, Maine, Alabama and Louisiana. This grant is not a monetary grant; it is a small book donation grant of 30 to 50 books. You will find the program details on the “Other Programs Page”.

a All Children Need Books- We will send the books directly to the home of the child, who comes from a low-income home where there are no books in the home. The book will be personalized with the child’s name placed on the inside cover of the book. We have set aside 2,300 books each year to send to children that do not have books of their own at home. Program details can be found on the “Other Programs Page”.

a The Book Bag Program- Allows non-profits that are involved in children’s literacy, including Charter and Public Schools on a limited bases to purchase 100 new books (when available) for $180.00* including shipping. Most of the books through this program are titles that can be found in the larger retail chain Bookstores. The books come in a pre-packaged box with a variety of popular titles for children ranging in age 2 to 12 years of age. The boxes also contain children’s activity books that come with crayons or watercolor paints. Notifications of the
availability of books in this program are sent out via e-mail. All boxes of books are available on a first come, first serve basis. We also accept credit card payments for this program only.