All of us at Kids Need to Read would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported the Nathan Fillion Birthday Wish for Kids Need to Read. Through your generosity, the online event raised over $17,000 in support of Kids Need to Read. As a co-founder of the organization, actor Nathan Fillion contributes to an enduring legacy in the inspiring work of Kids Need to Read on behalf of impoverished and under-served children across the nation. These children suffer the plight of an unbalanced education system, leading many to fail and drop out of school. Statistics from National Assessment of Educational Progress and other national assessments indicate that poverty is one key factor adversely affecting graduation rates in our country. Now, more than ever, there is an overwhelming need for literacy intervention among impoverished children and adolescents faced with inequitable odds of success. The entire lifetime of an individual is affected not only by their ability to read but also by their desire to read.
While the problem of attrition rates in the school system is an undeniably complex one, we clearly cannot ignore the growing problem of bullying and school violence as we try to solve it. Among the children Kids Need to Read serves, a shocking number cite bullying as a key factor when considering dropping out of school completely. According to dosomething.org, approximately 160,000 teens skip school every day because of bullying, and one out of ten students ultimately drop out due to repeated bullying. Every day we look the other way, we put our children in danger. Harassment and bullying have been linked to 75 percent of school-shooting incidents. The best way to build a safer, more peaceful community is to fill it with the confidence and ambition of high school and college graduates. To help achieve this goal, Kids Need to Read is using perhaps the most influential ambassadors of all: books. The Kids Need to Read Peace Packs book collection is designed to support literacy education, as well as help students cope with bullying, learn peaceful conflict resolution techniques, and develop effective leadership skills.
Thank you one and all for assisting Kids Need to Read and co-founder Nathan Fillion in fulfilling these crucial goals for the productive futures of our children. Reading is a connection to life, to people, and to self-respect. Even one book—just the right book—can change a life forever. And positively changing lives will positively change communities.
Most sincerely,
Denise Gary
Executive Director
Contributions may still be made in honor of Mr. Fillion on the Nathan Fillion Birthday Wish web page or the Kids Need to Read donation web page.
