SAG Foundation Receives $100k for Children’s Literacy

January 15, 2015

Variety.com |by Marianne Zumberge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Screen Actors Guild Foundation has received a $100,000 donation from the Rise Up Foundation to fund BookPALS (Performing Artists for Literacy in Schools), the SAG Foundation’s children’s literacy project. The donation will be put toward a special yearlong literacy campaign implemented by BookPALS.

BookPALS consists of more than 2,200 union actors who volunteer to read to children. More than 60,000 children have benefitted from the program in classrooms, hospitals and libraries in 35 cities across the country.

“We are so grateful to the Rise Up Foundation for their incredibly generous gift to our BookPALS program and their equally strong commitment to children’s literacy,” JoBeth Williams, president of the SAG Foundation, said in a statement. “This partnership is a natural fit for our two foundations. This is going to be an awesome opportunity for tens of thousands of children nationwide to interact with professional storytellers and connect with books, reading and the written word in an exciting, new way.”

Wendy Alane Adams, CEO and founder of the Rise Up Foundation, is also pleased at the prospect of furthering children’s literacy. “It’s important to help our children explore the world through literature,” Adams said in a statement. “It enhances their lives, empowers them and prepares them for a brighter future. Our goal is to inspire children to connect more fully to reading and create a strong bond outside of the classroom.”

The yearlong literacy campaign will really rev up in September, National Literacy Month, when some of SAG’s high-profile actors will participate in BookPALS’ literacy events.