Read a Book. Give a Book.

Reading with my kids is one of life's pleasures. Today I discovered the most fantastic website that lets my kids and I read together online for free - and for every book we read, a book is donated to a leading literacy group on our behalf.

We Give Books is an easy and fun way to spread literacy around the world by supporting such organisations such as World Vision in Haiti, Room to Read or United Through Reading.  And the books they have online are great.  They even have Corduroy by Don Freeman - a book I remember fondly from my childhood and haven't seen in ages.

What better way to help your own kids enjoy the world of books  - and teach them about philanthropy.  So grab a kid . . . and get reading!!

Books for Kids

The Literacy Site works with First Book and Room to Read to make books available to children around the world. With the generous support of their sponsors, each click provides 1% of a book.

Kids LOVE books. Fostering a love of reading early on stands them in good stead for the future - and literacy is key in breaking the poverty cycle.

So visit The Literacy Site every day and click to donate books to kids!

Room to Read

"Literacy unlocks the door to learning throughout life, is essential to development and health, and opens the way for democratic participation and active citizenship "

- Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary-General

Its International Literacy Day on September 8th. So between now and then I'll be highlighting efforts to improve literacy and education around the world.

Why is literacy so important? In a letter to G-8 leaders, Mary Robinson, Bishop Desmond Tutu and Mohammad Yunus wrote: "Without skills such as literacy, numeracy and problem-solving, millions of children and adults are trapped in poverty. Education is the key to unlocking inter-generational deprivation as it offers the knowledge people need to live healthy, happy lives."

First up is Room to Read. Room to Read is dedicated to promoting and enabling global education. Founded in 2000, the organisation is based on the belief that education is crucial to breaking the cycle of poverty in the developing world. Since then, the organization has supported over three million children by providing better access to higher-quality educational opportunities. Room to Read has established more than 700 schools and over 7,000 bilingual libraries with five million books, and continues to support the education of nearly 7,000 girls. Room to Read is providing opportunities that change children's lives and communities throughout Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Zambia. By 2010, Room to Read hopes to improve literacy for five million children by establishing over 10,000 libraries and distributing nearly nine million children's books.

Find out how YOU can get involved and support Room to Read today!

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