Judith's Reading Room logoFive Books is All it Takes to Alleviate ‘Summer  Slide’

Judith’s Reading Room, a nonprofit literacy organization, donated today over 300 hand picked books for young people connected with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia.  The joint effort is aimed to reduce ‘summer slide,’ or the loss of skill, knowledge, and motivation acquired during the school year due to the lack of practice over the summer.
Christopher Gale, Manager of Literacy Initiatives, Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia said, “With these books we plan to encourage our young people to cultivate traits of a life-long learner.  We are committed to the development of these young people and books are an essential tool to help us in that manner.”

     Judith’s Reading Room donated the requested books so that each child will have five books to call their own to read over the summer.  “We hope that the donation of wonderful children’s literature will encourage these young people to read over the summer so that they can start school on an equal playing field in the fall,” said Cathy Leiber, President & Co-Founder, Judith’s Reading Room.
     The two organizations established a partnership last year when Judith’s Reading Room agreed to establish five mobile libraries containing more than 1,800 books for five Boys & Girls Clubs in and around metro Philadelphia.  In all, over 2,000 books have been delivered to five Boys & Girls sites worth nearly $20,300.  Judith’s Reading Room obtains the books through book drives, book fairs, and generous community donors.
     Judith’s Reading Room promotes “Freedom Through Literacy” by providing custom libraries to organizations that serve people who have no or little access to literature.  Since its inception in 2010, the organization has dedicated 75 libraries in 6 states and 11 countries with nearly 85,000 books valued at over $850,000.  Scott and Cathy Leiber founded the organization to honor the memory of Judith F. Krug, a champion of the First Amendment and Scott’s cousin.  For more information about Judith’s Reading Room please visit www.judithsreadingroom.org.