March 4, 2022
Childhood Literacy Nonprofit Receives $20M Gift
RE: NBC 5
By Laura Harris
Childhood literacy nonprofit Reading Partners has announced they received a $20 million gift from Mackenzie Scott. That money will also help the local arm of the national organization, Reading Partners North Texas. The main objective is to close the literacy gap.
The donation comes as Reading Partners has started an initiative to raise more than $100 million over three years to provide a range of literacy support services to tens of thousands of students each year.
“Systemic inequities have created a situation in this country where we now have millions of elementary school children not reading at grade level and the pandemic has only exacerbated those numbers with learning overall,” said Adeola Whitney, CEO of Reading Partners.
For the last 22 years, Reading Partners has helped more than 70,000 children nationwide get back on track when it comes to their reading, but Whitney said there is so much work that still needs to be done.
“It’s estimated there are 9 million elementary school students who can’t read on grade level. So, Reading Partners has mobilized thousands of community volunteers who go into schools where children are struggling with reading. That’s kids as young as Kindergarten up to the fourth grade,” Whitney said.
The money was donated by Scott, who has given billions to philanthropic organizations since her divorce from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Reading Partners North Texas is always looking for community volunteers for their program. All necessary training is provided for free.
