Thirty-six pre-schoolers from the Williamsport Branch YMCA's Loyalsock Child Care Center are joining Super Bowl MVPs Peyton and Eli Manning and Scholastic Book Clubs to help donate one million books to disadvantaged children.
This fall, students in Denise Lang, Pamela Meskell and Darlene Mitchley's classes have pledged to read 100 books in each classroom as part of Scholastic Book Clubs' ClassroomsCare program.
The philanthropy-based literacy campaign is designed to teach children about the joys and importance of reading and giving.
"Kids have big hearts, and nowhere is that more evident than when children help children through the ClassroomsCare program," said Judy Newman, president, Scholastic Book Clubs. "Classes around the country are reading 100 books each. When they meet that goal, the Mannings, Scholastic, and our charity partners will put one million books into the hands of the neediest children."
To participate, classrooms join either "Team Peyton" or "Team Eli" and keep track of their progress using an oversize ClassroomsCare poster.
A companion Web site lets classes share and compare their achievements with other participating classrooms around the nation.
The Web site also provides activities, motivational videos featuring the Mannings, e-cards, a sweepstakes and details on ClassroomsCare's charity partners.
"Scholastic Book Clubs' ClassroomsCare lets both students and teachers demonstrate our spirit of service and sharing while also instilling a passion for reading," said Janet Wolf, director.
