Read For The Record Program Sets Out To Close The Book On Childhood Illiteracy

A number of high-profile organization have banded together to support childhood literacy, urging parents across the country to take October 8th as a day to read to their children as part of a program entitled “Read For The Record.”

“On this one day, we are looking to have 1 million children read to raise awareness about the early childhood literacy crisis,” said James Cleveland, the President of Jumpstart, a non profit organization with a particular focus on enhancing education, during a press conference Thursday. “This is one problem we can solve.”

The Wal-Mart Foundation and the Pearson Foundation have partnered with Jumpstart on this venture, with the former pledging to donate all profits made from the sales of a limited edition version of Eric Carle’s “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” on October 8th to Jumpstart.

“We hope lots of people buy the book,” said Wal-Mart Foundation President Margaret McKenna. “There will be events at many, many Wal-Mart stores around the country.”

We’re hoping that those 150 million people who visit Wal-Mart every week will...understand what this whole movement is about,” added McKenna.