The Barbara Bush
Foundation for Family Literacy
is pleased to announce the launch
of a new nationwide family literacy
initiative; Literacy Explorer Kits.
The kits include the
materials needed to host a family
literacy event – including customized
guides and parent materials for
children’s books “Little Blue Truck,”
“The Day You Begin,” and “First Ladies
Make History.” Families will go home
with materials to support them in
continuing to learn and play together.
The Foundation launched
the kits in partnership with Miami-Dade
Public Library System’s Coral Gables
Branch Library. Local parents,
caregivers, and children gathered at the
library for a story time centered around
the Foundation’s new Literacy Explorer
Kits. The kits are launched in
conjunction with the Foundation’s
Barbara Bush Centennial – a yearlong
series of special initiatives honoring
the 100th anniversary of
Barbara Bush’s birth.
BBF ship free Literacy
Explorer Kits to 100 sites nationwide,
including libraries, family literacy
programs and community organizations.
The kits were created with generous
support from HarperCollins Publishers,
Penguin Random House, Anita and Giovanna
McBride, and the White House Historical
Association.
Governor Jeb Bush, who
led the launch of these programs in
2002, shared his thoughts on their
continued importance and impact at an
event later in the evening.
“When children are taught
to read, they can have the biggest
dreams possible. The light bulb moment
when a child’s hard work is rewarded and
they figure it out is one of the most
exciting things in the world,” said
Governor Jeb Bush. “My hope and dream is
that these programs continue to expand
and exist across the county because they
really matter.”
Over the course of 2025,
the Barbara Bush Centennial will also
include Celebration of Reading events
in Kennebunkport, Maine, Dallas, Texas,
and Washington, D.C.; special
initiatives highlighting Barbara Bush’s
extraordinary life and legacy; and the
launch of new family literacy
programming.
About the Barbara Bush
Foundation for Family Literacy:
The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family
Literacy has been the nation’s leading
advocate for family literacy for more
than three decades. Established
by former First Lady Barbara Bush in
1989, today the Foundation is a public
charity providing high-quality programs,
resources, education initiatives, and
research to help families and
communities nationwide build brighter
futures through literacy. Learn more at www.BarbaraBush.org. |