Taylor Swift and Scholastic gave 25 schools 1,000 books to New York City schools.
Taylor Swift partnered with Scholastic Education to give 1,000 books to 25 New York City schools. This is due in part to Swift’s support of the company’s “Open a World of Possible” program, which is intended to foster independent reading with all children. Swift’s Donation to Scholastic helps fund “Open a World of Possible” campaign which helps inspire a love of reading in children.
As reported by Buzzfeed, the President of Scholastic Education, Greg Worrell, commented on Swift’s partnership with the company. Worrell said, “Scholastic is honored to join with Taylor Swift, who continues to show a passion for literacy and a commitment to spreading the message of how influential books can be in a child’s life.” He also said, “through this donation, we aim to encourage independent reading which inspires a love of learning and to ‘Open a World of Possible’ for more New York City students by making sure they have access to the very best children’s books.”
According to Scholastic Education’s website a full library is important to reaching the goal of the “Open a World of Possible” campaign. For many children, especially low-income children, the only place to get books is their school libraries. The website says, “[91] percent of children ages 6–17 say ‘my favorite books are the ones that I have picked out myself.'” The website also says about double the number of kids from low-income kids read for fun than wealthy kids do.
According to Scholastic Education’s website, Taylor Swift is not the only celebrity who is a part of their campaign. Sara Jessica Parker is also involved, a part of their campaign on how a book turned a person into a reader. The campaign uses the hashtag #sharepossible. There is a video narrated by Parker and a quote by her that says, “I am standing on all the stories I’ve ever read.”
Celebrities helping New York City schools is nothing new. Taylor Swift has donated to New York City schools before, donating $50,000 in February. Not too long after that she was voted the most charitable celebrity by Dosomething.org.
