The Sandals Foundation Joins With Scholastic Book Fairs to Promote the Gift of Reading Among Caribbean School Children
PROVIDENCIALES, Turks & Caicos, Nov. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sandals Foundation, the non-profit arm of Sandals Resorts International, recently unveiled a new collaboration with Scholastic Book Fairs aimed at improving literacy among students in the Caribbean. Scholastic Book Fairs, a division of Scholastic that hosts more than 130,000 book-sale events in schools annually, will sponsor Reading Road Trip, the Sandals Foundation's educational outreach program operated by Island Routes Caribbean Adventure Tours. The weekly program affords guests of Sandals and Beaches Resorts the opportunity to visit a Sandals Foundation supported school to lend literacy, comprehension and vocabulary support and give books to students throughout the school year.
"Scholastic is one of the most vibrant organizations instilling passion for reading among children in the world today," said Heidi Clarke, Director of Programs for the Sandals Foundation. "We are thrilled to be working with them and to have them as our partner here in the Caribbean," she concluded.
To help ensure young students throughout the Caribbean have access to great books, Scholastic Book Fairs, through the Scholastic Possible Fund, will donate 25,000 books to be utilized by local schools in Jamaica, Antigua, Saint Lucia, The Bahamas, The Turks & Caicos Islands, Grenada, and Barbados which the Sandals Foundation supports. Scholastic will also provide Caribbean students and educators with a one-year subscription to Scholastic's BookFlix program, an online interactive literacy resource that helps reinforce reading skills by pairing classic fictional video storybooks with nonfiction e-books from Scholastic.
"We are delighted to be able to join with Sandals Foundation to provide much-needed books and other literacy resources to thousands of students at schools throughout the Caribbean," said Dillon Kalkhurst, Director of Community Engagement and Strategic Partnerships for Scholastic Book Fairs. "By doing our small part to promote the 'adventure of reading', we hope to encourage a lifelong passion for books that will serve these children for many years to come."
For more information, please visit www.sandalsfoundation.org. To learn more about Scholastic, visit www.scholastic.com/bookfairs/programs/allforbooks/ and www.scholastic.com/worldofpossible.
About The Sandals Foundation
The Sandals Foundation is the non-profit arm of Sandals Resorts International (SRI), the Caribbean's leading family-owned resort company. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization was created to continue and to expand upon the charitable work that Sandals Resorts International has undertaken since its founding in 1981 to play a meaningful role in the lives of the communities where SRI operates throughout the Caribbean. The Sandals Foundation funds projects in three core areas: education, community and the environment. One hundred percent of the monies contributed by the general public to the Sandals Foundation go directly to programs benefiting the Caribbean community. To learn more about the Sandals Foundation, visit online at http://www.sandalsfoundation.org.
About Scholastic Book Fairs
Scholastic Book Fairs®, in partnership with schools across the country, hosts more than 130,000 book-sale events each year, reaching more than 35 million children and their families in pre-school through 9th grade. Book Fairs provide students, teachers, and parents access to thousands of affordable books and educational products and is responsible for putting more than 100 million books in the hands of children, while helping foster enthusiasm for reading and generating more than $190 million annually in fundraising for school projects and classroom materials. To learn more about Scholastic Book Fairs, please visit online at www.scholastic.com/bookfairs.
Cathleen Decker
The Decker/Royal Agency
646 / 650 / 2188
[email protected]
SOURCE The Sandals Foundation
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