Did you know more than 30 million adults in the United States cannot read, write or do math above a third grade level? This is according to ProLiteracy, which also found that 72% of children who have parents with low literacy skills are at risk for being at the lowest reading levels themselves. Thankfully however, one Connecticut-based family is looking to close the literacy gap, one state at a time. 

50 States 50 Books is an organization created by Charnaie Gordon, founder of Here Wee Read, and her two children, Madison (6) and Barrington (4 ½). Their mission is to provide free, diverse books to children across the nation in an effort to show early literacy is vital for a child’s success. 

Together, Gordon and her children choose an institution or an organization in different states to donate books to, and Gordon also hopes to donate new books to children’s hospitals in the near future. 

In terms of donations, there are many people who donate their books to the family for its cause. Gordon shared with HuffPost that thanks to others' generous donations they haven’t had the need to purchase new books recently. Through Here Wee Read’s Amazon Wish List, people can select books to purchase, which are divided into categories such as “African-American Picture and Board Books,” “Diverse Chapter Books,” “Civil Rights & Activists Books,” “Disability & Special Need Books” and so many more. 

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Here’s a snapshot of our progress to date. You can always see a list of all the states and organizations we’ve donated to so far by visiting our website (linked in our bio). • There you can also see our book wishlist, read about the impact we’re making on the community, apply to receive our book donations, donate monetary funds to help us pay shipping costs, and see a bar chart 📊that shows the total number of books we’ve collected for each state so far. Have you received one of our state book donations? Say hello in the comments! 👇🏾 • Please help spread the word about our project as we continue to close the literacy gap and fill the map, one state at a time; one book at a time. Thanks in advance for your support. Let’s go, Arizona! #50states50books #closethemapfillthegap #50states #literacyadvocate #literacymatters #representationmatters #diversitymatters #kidsbookstagram #raisingreaders #earlyliteracy

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Madison and Barrington help their mom with the project by “adding an ink stamp to every book that designates it as a donation from 50 States 50 Books. They also help collect the titles and prepare them for delivery,” according to HuffPost. 

By 2020, the family hopes to be able to donate books to every state! To learn more about how you can help, click here. 

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50 states 50 books , literacy