CARE’s Reading in Color initiative works to provide all children with the opportunity to see themselves represented in the books they read!
Find our Reading In Color Book List HERE
You may donate to the Reading in Color initiative HERE.
Our Reading in Color initiative targets raising awareness about diversity in children’s literature. Children should realize the importance of love and acceptance of all ethnicities, cultures, and identities from an early age. This helps them grow into confident, compassionate, and inclusive members of a diverse society.
Characters with Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) identities are significantly underrepresented in children’s literature and that can be unintentionally reflected in our classrooms. To address this issue in our local schools, CARE fundraises, purchases, and delivers books by and featuring BIPOC to donate to local schools.
Each year we compile a list of books and send them to elementary schools in Lexington and Rockbridge County. Teachers have an opportunity to select a new book book from the list for their classroom. We then purchase and deliver books to the schools by the end of the year.
A diverse group of community members and local college students assist in delivering the books to classrooms while serving as special guest readers to introduce students to their new reading material.
Funding for Reading In Color comes from your donations and grants from the Community Foundation for Rockbridge, Bath, & Alleghany County.You may donate to the Reading in Color Initiative here.
“Thank you so much for once again providing our teachers with an opportunity to expand their classroom library with an array of books that truly reflect how accepting our school and community are to every family we serve.”
– Principal Kimberly Troise of Waddell Elementary School
“The wide range of diversity among the books is phenomenal. The teachers will be thrilled to share these books with the students of Central.”
– Principal Robin Parker of Central Elementary School
