Scripps Howard Fund to match donations Wednesday for annual kids’ book drive

The Scripps Howard Fund will match the first $175,000 donated to its “If You Give a Child a Book …” childhood literacy campaign on Wednesday in celebration of National Literacy Month.

The focus of the monthlong fundraiser is to provide free books to underserved and vulnerable children in kindergarten through third grade who are still learning to read.

For every $12 donated on Sept. 4, the Fund will give two books to a child in need. Donations can be made at ifyougiveabook.com. The fundraiser continues beyond Wednesday.

“Third grade is a pivotal time in a child’s life. After that grade level, they’re going from learning how to read to reading to learn,” said Meredith Delaney, president and CEO of the Scripps Howard Fund. “If they don’t hit that critical literacy milestone, they start falling behind academically – and it’s so hard for them to make that up.”

Supporting education in local communities

The Scripps Howard Fund is the charitable arm of Cincinnati-based The E.W. Scripps Company. The nonprofit provides financial support to journalism education, childhood literacy and other local causes in the communities it serves.

One of those undertakings is the “If You Give a Child a Book …” campaign, which receives financial support from The E.W. Scripps Company and its employees as well as Scripps family members. Last year, the Fund raised a record $1.2 million for its campaign. Since the campaign launched in 2016, the Fund has distributed more than 1.25 million books to children in need.

The Fund’s goal is to ensure every student in the low-income schools with which it partners receives 10 books each year, per the organization. Beyond the “If You Give a Child a Book …” effort, the organization has a partnership with Scholastic Books that brings book fairs to Title 1 schools so students can select their own books to bring home.

In total, the Scripps Howard Fund invested more than $8.7 million in charitable gifts in 2023 to support the communities it serves.