Charlotte Hornets and Nonprofit First Book Team up to Deliver Thousands of New Books to Charlotte-Area Students
The Book Bus presented by Lowe’s and the Hornets Will Distribute New Books to Five Title I Schools in Charlotte
September 22, 2014 /3BL Media/ - In an effort to advance youth literacy in Charlotte, the Charlotte Hornets have partnered with the nonprofit social enterprise First Book, through CBS EcoMedia, to deliver brand-new, age-appropriate books to over four thousand students. The Book Bus will travel to five Title I schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System over the course of the week and distribute approximately 4,270 books to the school children.
To kick off the book tour and celebrate this unique partnership, the Charlotte Hornets arrived at Briarwood Academy today along with the Hornets’ mascot Hugo to provide the brand-new books to the students. After a special assembly, the students interacted with Hugo and selected their books on the bus.
The Book Bus is a part of Lowe’s and the Charlotte Hornets “Excellence in Education” initiative which inspires elementary school children to join the reading revolution and emphasizes the importance of reading daily. The Book Bus will visit the following schools throughout the week: Briarwood Academy, Winterfield Elementary, Nations Ford Elementary, Albemarle Road Elementary, and Westerly Hills Academy.
“Education is one of the main pillars of the Charlotte Hornets outreach, and along with our partners at Lowe’s, the Book Bus brings awareness to the importance of reading,” said Kim Henderson, Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility/Executive Director of the Charlotte Hornets Foundation. “Our goal is to work with our local schools, by providing the tools necessary to impact today's youth"
Keffer Hyundai, Orleans Homes, and Colorado State University contributed funding through EcoMedia’s EducationAd program on CBS Radio to support the distribution of these new books.
First Book provides new books and educational resources to educational programs serving children from low-income families. By working with a network of over 135,000 community-based schools and programs, First Book helps elevate the quality of education for kids in need. With help from partners like the Charlotte Hornets and CBS Ecomedia, First Book hopes to reach every one of the nearly 30 million kids that live in low-income households in the United States.
“Access to books is the number one predictor of kids’ academic success,” said Teresa Pipia, Vice-President of Strategic Alliances for First Book. “We are proud to join the Charlotte Hornets and CBS Ecomedia in helping kids read, learn and succeed by putting thousands of new books into the hands of area kids that need them most.”
“There’s no underestimating the power of books on young impressionable minds,” said Paul Polizzotto, President and Founder of CBS EcoMedia. “We’re grateful to the Charlotte Hornets, Keffer Hyundai, Orleans Homes, and Colorado State University for helping to support First Book’s mission to bring access to new books for children in need.”
About Charlotte Hornets
Through the Charlotte Hornets Foundation, Hornets Sports & Entertainment is committed to helping the needs of the community in the areas of education, hunger and wellness. Hornets players, coaches and staff are actively engaged in the community, volunteering their time and efforts to serve these key areas.
About First Book
First Book is a nonprofit social enterprise that has distributed more than 118 million books and educational resources to programs and schools serving children from low-income families throughout the United States and Canada. By making new, high-quality books available on an ongoing basis, First Book is transforming the lives of children in need and elevating the quality of education. For more information, please visit them online or follow their latest news on Facebook and Twitter.
About CBS EcoMedia Inc.
At EcoMedia, we’re propelled by the desire to create positive social change; that’s been our mission since we founded the company in 2002. In 2010, after successfully partnering with CBS on a wide range of environmental projects, EcoMedia became the newest addition to the CBS Corporation portfolio, exponentially scaling our reach across television, radio, interactive, publishing and outdoor media.
Through our patent-pending EcoAd, WellnessAd and EducationAd programs, an innovative twist on traditional advertising, advertisers are able to support much-needed local projects which in turn creates jobs, saves taxpayer money and improves the quality of life in communities nationwide. In the process, we’re fundamentally altering the advertising landscape, elevating the ordinary, traditional commercial – and media, in general – into a catalyst for tangible, quantifiable social change. Please visit ecomediacbs.com, like us at facebook.com/EcoMediaCBS or follow us at Twitter.com/EcoMediaCBS.
By participating in EcoMedia’s EcoAd, WellnessAd and EducationAd advertising programs, EcoMedia’s advertisers agree to provide funding for projects we believe will have a beneficial effect upon the environment, health and/or education within local communities. EcoMedia’s advertising programs are not certification programs nor are the EcoAd, WellnessAd or EducationAd logos seals of approval. EcoMedia does not in any way certify, endorse or make any representations about EcoMedia program advertisers, their products or services.
