by Barbara McNichol
Again this October, my good friend Rebecca Morgan leads the charge to “Feed kids’ minds, not their cavities. Give them brain candy.”
As the founder of Books for Treats, Rebecca spearheads a movement to combine learning with cavity-free fun by giving out books instead of candy at Hallowe’en.
Why? To encourage reading for a lifetime. FYI, the National Endowment for the Arts recently reported that the average 15- to 24-year-old spends seven minutes daily on “voluntary” reading—not a desirable amount of time.
It indicated that if adults can kindle children’s excitement about reading before they become teenagers, it’s likely they’ll continue the habit into adulthood.
Even tigers like to read!
How can you participate? Here are a few suggestions:
- Buy gently read children’s books at library sales, garage sales, and thrift shops, then hand them out to trick-or-treaters.
- Go to http://www.BooksForTreats.org, register, and download a free kit that walks you through imaginative ways to participate in the Books for Treats program and receive updates.
- Tell your neighbors, friends, and coworkers about Books for Treats and encourage them to do the same.
- Expand this program into your community.
- Make a monetary contribution to support this effort at www.BooksForTreats.org.
Books for Treats—a small thing you can do that could make a big difference.
P.S. Be sure to collect children’s books throughout the year—for this purpose and to share books throughout the year.
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