Scholastic to Donate One Million Books and Other Teaching Resources to Schools and Libraries Devastated by Hurricane Sandy

NEW YORK, Nov. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- With more than 20 schools in New York City unable to reopen and dozens of schools in New Jersey still closed in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Scholastic, the global children's publishing, education and media company, today announced that it will donate one million books to schools and libraries in the hardest-hit areas of the tri-state region.  To help in the recovery efforts with support for the educators, families and students who have suffered losses, Scholastic is accepting book grant requests at www.scholastic.com/bookgrants and will provide new books and resources that will help get tens of thousands of students reading and learning again, despite severely challenging circumstances. Scholastic is grateful to be working with the nonprofit Kids in Distressed Situations, Inc., to help distribute the million books to the schools and libraries that need them the most. 

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100907/SCHOLASTICLOGO )

In addition to the loss of books in schools, many teachers have lost vital instructional resources and lesson plans that they have accumulated over the years, so Scholastic is also making available a rich array of free, grade-leveled lesson plans and activities for these educators.  Teachers in neighborhoods impacted by the storm will receive an email from Scholastic with a link to the free, downloadable, ready-to-use materials that can immediately support their classroom instruction and provide purposeful practice for their students as they begin to rebuild their classroom resources. 

"The educators, parents and caregivers, who are helping children in our hard hit communities throughout the region, are true heroes," said Richard Robinson, Chairman, President and CEO, Scholastic.  "All of us at Scholastic are committed to getting these books, lesson plans and other learning materials into the affected communities as soon as possible in the hope that we can provide support for our young people as they return to schools that need extra resources."

For educators, parents and caregivers, Scholastic is also providing free online resources to support children's social and emotional recovery, including:

• Tips from the Yale Child Study Center to assist families and schools in helping children cope
• Advice for parents and an interview with a Scholastic expert on talking to kids about disasters
• A list of books that will help adults explain how storms happen in child-friendly terms, as well as books to comfort children suffering trauma from the disaster
• Age-appropriate coverage of the storm and recovery by the Scholastic News Kid Reporters

To access the online resources, please visit www.scholastic.com/readeveryday/resources.htm.

SOURCE Scholastic Inc.