NORTH LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Roughly 650 students at Tom Williams Elementary School in North Las Vegas were able to add five books to their home libraries as part of Channel 13’s “If You Give a Child a Book” campaign.
Community members helped donate nearly $30,000, increasing the amount of books each student was able to receive from last year’s campaign.
Because of the increase in donations, Channel 13 is able to partner with another school to bring books to more students in the Las Vegas valley in the hopes of increasing childhood literacy.
WATCH: Channel 13 viewer donations buy thousands of books for local elementary school students
Ally Fary with Spread the Word Nevada says literacy rates across the state dropped slightly from last year, so this program is extremely important.
It also meant a lot to the kids.
“I love scary books. I like to read about back then just in case technology disappears one day. That’s why I like when you guys came to my school,” said fifth-grader Daniel.
“My best part about reading is having fun,” said fifth-grader Eduardo. “That I get to learn new stories and just read to my brothers and sister also.”
“I was really excited because that means I get to pick more stories and we’re able to read more,” said fourth-grader Yanely. “I like to read more because I gain knowledge.”
“When I look at the title, I think about the colors, how fun it looks, how interesting, so every time I think about that, I just choose it,” said fifth-grader Amy.
Some of the books are even inspiring future authors.
“I want to write a book about my childhood so I can remember all the amazing things that happened in my life and it will remind me of a good life,” said fourth-grader Alejandro.
