In the second year of our Book Rich Environments (BRE) initiative, the Foundation set out to beat last year’s number of 270,000 free books given to families in public housing authorities across the country. Through the incredible generosity of our publishing partners, we were able to secure 422,000 new books in 2018, which are making their way into the hands of kids at distribution events all year long!
In August, the Foundation was thrilled to partner with Watts Empowerment Center, the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles Public Library to bring one of many BRE events to families in L.A.’s Imperial Courts housing property. With the help of our local partners, we were able to hand out thousands of free books as part of a day-long fair that included food, entertainment, games, and more.
The BRE event also included a special guest. Writer and actor B.J. Novak, widely known for his work on the Emmy Award-winning series The Office, read from his bestselling children’s book, The Book With No Pictures, and participated in a Q&A and book signing. Copies of his book were provided free of charge to community members in attendance.
Through Book Rich Environments, we are excited to be able to provide 37,000 books across Los Angeles in 2018.