FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 5, 2008

READ AND RISE PROGRAM RECEIVES GRANT FROM SCRIPPS

A Knoxville-based program that encourages children to read is the recipient of a $10,000 grant from the Scripps Howard Foundation.

The grant was recently awarded to the Knoxville Area Urban League’s Read and Rise program. John Lansing, president of Scripps Networks, presented the check to the Urban League.

“Literacy is vital to the growth and development of our children,” said Phyllis Y. Nichols, president and CEO of the Knoxville Area Urban League. “This grant will allow us to once again help at-risk children develop the early literacy skills they will need to succeed in school.”

The Read and Rise program not only offers books to children free of charge but also provides free workbooks to help parents engage their children to develop good reading habits. The curriculum also includes group reading circles where both parents and children read aloud and discuss the books.

“The goal is more than just teaching a child to read,” said Nichols. “We want children to develop a passion for reading and for families to take an active part in the learning process.”

In 2007, a similar donation from the Scripps Howard Foundation enabled the Read and Rise Program to distribute over 3,000 books and parent guides to families throughout the East Tennessee community.

The Read and Rise program will distribute nearly 4,000 books in 2008.

The Scripps Howard Foundation is the corporate charitable arm of the E.W. Scripps Company. The foundation helps build healthy communities and improve the quality of life through support of sound educational programs, strong families, vital social services, enriching arts and culture, and inclusive civil affairs, with a special commitment to communities where Scripps does business. Since 1986, the foundation has planted the seeds of literacy in Scripps communities through $2.6 million in grant to literacy programs.

For more information on the Read and Rise program or to be part of a parent or child reading circle, contact Donna Worthy, Director of Education & Youth Services at (865) 524-5511, ext. 133.

The Urban League’s Education and Youth Programs work to ensure that all children are well educated and prepared for economic self-reliance in the 21st century through college scholarships, early childhood literacy, and after school programs.

The Knoxville Area Urban League is an affiliate of the National Urban League, the nation’s oldest and largest community-based movement devoted to empowering African Americans to enter the economic and social mainstream. There are more than 100 local affiliates of the National Urban League located in 35 states and the District of Columbia providing direct services to more than 2 million people nationwide through programs, advocacy and research.

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