Enriching Education: 100 Days of Reading

Today, Save the Children launched its inaugural summer reading campaign in the United States – Read a Story, Change Their Story – in celebration of the global nonprofit’s 100^th anniversary. The 100-day campaign, which will conclude on September 8, World Literacy Day, encourages all children, parents, teachers, librarians, caregivers and adults to log their summer reading minutes at SavetheChildren.org/READ.Participants can positively impact the lives of children growing up in rural America who do not have adequate access to early education or children’s books, while also promoting literacy in all communities. Every minute logged helps raise awareness and supports Save the Children’s work to improve literacy and change lives.

All children are at risk of the summer slide, meaning they can lose achievement gains made in the previous school year. A child’s summer learning experiences during their elementary school years can impact their success in higher grades, including whether they graduate from high school and move on to college. According to the National Summer Learning Association, children growing up in poverty are at even greater risk – low-income children typically lose two to three months of reading progress each summer.

“Knowing what’s at stake for children in America in terms of summer learning loss was a motivating factor for Save the Children to create this easy-to-do 100 Days of Reading campaign,” said Carolyn Miles, CEO of Save the Children. “Read a Story, Change Their Story has the potential to make transformational change for children. We’ve set an ambitious goal to log 100 million minutes of reading this summer to benefit every child and hope you’ll join us.”

100 Days of Reading is generously presented by T.J. Maxx, which is celebrating 35 years of partnership with Save the Children’s U.S. Programs. Additional campaign support is provided by Penguin Random House, Brightly and the National Summer Learning Association, which offers content and resources to help parents grow lifelong readers, as well as by partners including American Girl, HarperCollins Children’s Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Mattel.

To learn more and log your minutes, visit SavetheChildren.org/READ.

Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. Since our founding 100 years ago, we’ve changed the lives of more than 1 billion children. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.