First Book and GM Foundation Bring Books to California Kids

WILMINGTON, Calif., Sept. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Thousands of California children from low-income families will receive brand-new books of their own this weekend, thanks to First Book and the General Motors Foundation.

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More than 4,000 brand-new, high-quality kid's books will be distributed to children attending the Wilmington Children's Book Festival, sponsored by the United Way, this Saturday, Sept. 15, in Wilmington, Calif. The children, including students from seven local Title I elementary schools, will each be able to select a book of their choosing to take home and keep.

"We're excited to be able to bring these books to the kids at the Wilmington Children's Book Festival," said Kyle Zimmer, president and CEO of First Book. "Getting kids excited about reading is crucial to their success in school and in life, and making sure they have quality books of their own to read is the best way to do that."

"With this festival, the United Way is doing terrific work to make sure kids in Wilmington are excited about reading, and we're happy to be able to provide the books, thanks to the support of our friends at the GM Foundation," said Zimmer.

First Book, a nonprofit, provides access to new books to schools and programs serving children from low-income families across the country, the majority of whom have severely limited access to books and educational resources.

In addition to the 4,000 new books, 100 children participating in the festival's guest author readings will each receive three additional new books.

To ensure that the children have ongoing access to the new books they need, each of the seven Wilmington-area elementary schools present will receive a $100 grant to get more books of their choosing, from the First Book Marketplace, a program available exclusively to the schools and programs in the First Book network. These grants are also made possible by the support of the GM Foundation.

"The GM Foundation's work with First Book enables us to provide books to children at all grade levels," said Sheri Marshall, assistant secretary, GM Foundation. "The Wilmington Children's Book Festival is a great venue for inspiring kids and instilling the importance of reading."

About First Book
First Book has distributed more than 90 million books and educational resources to programs and schools serving children from low-income families throughout the United States and Canada. By making new, high-quality books available on an ongoing basis, First Book is transforming the lives of children in need and elevating the quality of education. For more information, please visit us online or follow our latest news on Facebook and Twitter.

About the GM Foundation
Since its inception in 1976, the GM Foundation has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to American charities, educational organizations and to disaster relief efforts worldwide. The GM Foundation focuses on supporting Education, Health and Human Services, Environment and Energy and Community Development initiatives, mainly in the communities where GM operates. Funding of the GM Foundation comes solely from GM. The last contribution to the GM Foundation was made in 2001. For more information, visit www.gm.com/gmfoundation.

Contact:
Brian Minter of First Book; 202-744-3432 or [email protected]
Maria Mainville of General Motors Foundation; 313-573-7795 or [email protected]

SOURCE First Book