Our Mission

Writing is a solitary act. But when I connect with a child through my stories, they are forever next to me, greeting each new alien, traveling to every star and plotting with me to save the universe.

– PJ Haarsma, The Softwire Series

Kids Need to Read Mission Statement:

Kids Need to Read works to create a culture of reading for children by providing inspiring books to under-funded schools, libraries, and literacy programs across the United States, especially those serving disadvantaged children.

About Kids Need to Read:

Reading – it is the single most important skill children must learn to be productive members of society. Books open their minds, inspire their imaginations and stimulate their intelligence. As budget cutbacks increase, funding for libraries is often the first thing to go, especially in failing school systems. There are great numbers of schools that have been unable to buy new books for their students to read in years. Kids Need to Read was established to fight this disaster by sending exciting new books to under-funded schools and libraries across the United States, as well as to other organizations that provide literacy support to children, particularly disadvantaged children.

There is much work to be done to improve literacy rates in the United States and our growing foundation does as much as it can to get children excited about reading.  Our primary mission is to give books to institutions that lack the proper funding to purchase any themselves.  However, it is our aspiration to make as large of an impact on childhood literacy as we possibly can.  We accomplish this by carefully selecting the books on our donation list to be books of the highest quality reading material, so they will spark a high level of interest in the children who have access to them.  It does no good for a child to start reading a book that is poorly written, only to put it down and decide reading is a bore.  This high standard sets Kids Need to Read apart from many literacy programs.

Our book list is carefully structured to include low level, high interest books to grab the interest of reluctant readers, as well as material that is appealing to disadvantaged children, who generally have lower literacy levels in this country.  As we grow and add more books to our list, these two areas will continue to be of primary importance.  We target our donations toward inner city schools as much as possible, as well as toward small, urban charter schools that are struggling to make a difference in the lives of their students. Unfortunately, these schools tend to lack funds to build a library, despite the fact that literacy is often the only path to success for these children.

Many of the children Kids Need to Read serve have few positive influences in their lives. We use our books to help create a culture of reading for them, so that they can experience positive values and role models within the gifts we provide. Our books contain messages of hope, courage, compassion, kindness, friendship, love, tolerance and perseverance, among others. It is all part of our goal to empower children with the knowledge that they live in a world without limits.

It has always been our desire to not merely give books, but to become an inspiration for childhood literacy.  The more we grow, the more we can work to truly make an impact, not only on the children who are at the highest risk, but on all children.  We have come a long way in a very short period of time.  We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we have no doubt we will accomplish our mission.

Kids Need to Read
124 South 54th Street #65
Mesa, Arizona 85206

480-227-3471
info@kidsneedtoread.org

Kids Need to Read is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt public charity. It was founded as a charitable project in August 2007 by author PJ Haarsma and actor Nathan Fillion. It was organized as a nonprofit foundation in 2008.

The Kids Need to Read mission statement can be downloaded in PDF format here.