DePaul Books For Kids is a group of concerned college students working to enrich the lives of inner-city Chicago children who lack access to books.
We need your help!
Please mail your gently used children's book donations to:
DePaul Books for Kids
990 West Fullerton
Attention - CDeBose, Sociology
Chicago, IL 60614
You probably have old books that are no longer needed now that you or your children have grown. Please consider donating these precious resources so that they can be cherished by a new generation.
Children & Reading
- A child who is raised in an environment rich with books and love for reading is better prepared for school than a child who is not.
- Homes where family reading is part of the daily routine produce children who have broader vocabularies, can better understand their teacher’s directions, and are more likely to excel academically and in life.
- Children whose parents do not have a high school diploma or GED score poorest on reading tests and are 5 times more likely to drop out of school themselves.
The Poverty/Literacy Connection
- Poverty is a factor that positively correlates to low literacy.
- Research shows that children in homes where the family is at or below poverty level are exposed to an average of 3,000 words before reaching kindergarten - - whereas children from non-impoverished homes are exposed to an average of 20,000 words. 3,000 vs. 20,000 words!
- Research reveals that in poor homes, children are read to an average of only 15 hours before reaching kindergarten, compared to 2,500 hours in on-poor homes. 15 vs. 2,500!
- 61% of low/no income families do not have books in their home for their children.
- Only 7% of children from poor homes are able to recognize all the letters of the alphabet.
General Adult Literacy Statistics
- 40 million adults in America read at or below the 4th grade level.
- Approximately 53% of the adult population in greater Chicago have low or limited literacy skills.
- 20% of all adults read at or below the 5th grade level – far below the level needed to earn a living wage.
- 50% of those receiving public assistance did not graduate from high school and do not have a GED.
- In prisons alone, nearly 70% of those incarcerated lack a high school diploma or GED.
Earnings
- Those who do work but lack a high school diploma or GED earn just 25% of what a college graduate earns for a living.
(all information from www.literacychicago.org )
YOU can help change these statistics! Please consider donating.