-- In an Effort to Battle “Book Deserts” and
Increase Access to Age Appropriate Books, JetBlue and Random House
Children’s Books Bring 100,000 Free Books to Kids in South Florida
--
-- Public to Choose the Next City to Receive
Books in Online #BookBattle --
JetBlue (NASDAQ:JBLU) and Random House Children’s Books today
launched the seventh annual Soar with Reading™ initiative, which
provides age-appropriate books to children who need them most. This
summer the program lands in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with JetBlue
installing four custom vending machines throughout the city to
distribute 100,000 books, free of charge. The vending machines will
include a variety of children’s books. The newest enhancements to
the program include the addition of bilingual (Spanish/English)
books and given research supporting higher reading scores among
students who see their parents reading, a selection of titles
appealing to adults. These additions will encourage a
cross-generational love of reading.
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JetBlue's Soar with Reading initiative
Llnds in Fort Lauderdale, with JetBlue installing four custom
vending machines throughout the city to distribute 100,000 books,
free of charge. (Photo: Business Wire)
The program aims to help fight “book deserts,” areas offering
limited access to age-appropriate books. Soar with Reading
ambassadors, including actress/singer Victoria Justice, a South
Florida native, and author Mary Pope Osborne, helped reveal the
machines to students at Joseph C. Carter Park. To commemorate this
year’s initiative, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler dedicated June
27 as Soar with Reading Day and June 27 – August 31, 2017 as Soar
with Reading Summer.
“Soar with Reading empowers children to take pride in owning
books,” said Icema Gibbs, director of corporate social
responsibility, JetBlue. “Students who visit the vending machines
are able to take as many books as they want as often as they want
to build their own personal libraries. Our research shows that
children are more interested in reading when they see their parents
reading. As a result, we’ve added titles that appeal to grown-ups,
allowing families to enjoy reading together.”
This is the third year JetBlue has funded this innovative,
award-winning book vending machine program. The machines were
previously installed in locations in Detroit and Washington, D.C.
To measure the program’s impact, research was conducted by Dr.
Susan Neuman of New York University in these areas before and after
the vending machines were installed and found the program had
tangible effects on local residents, including:
- Three out of four children with access
to the vending machines scored higher on early literacy exams than
before they had access to the machines.
- Parents in neighborhoods with the
machines had more knowledge about their children’s reading habits
than parents in areas without the machines.
“We know that access to books is a foundational necessity for
children in order for them to achieve success inside and beyond the
classroom,” said Barbara Marcus, President and Publisher, Random
House Children’s Books. “Books allow children and adults to explore
the far reaches of their imaginations, and we are thrilled to be
part of the JetBlue program, which provides young people with the
opportunity to experience that adventure, regardless of where they
live.”
Vending Machine
Initiative
The vending machines, powered by Innovative Vending Solutions,
will be restocked throughout the summer with new titles. Children
and families are welcome to visit the book vending machines as
often as they would like and can take as many books as they’d like.
The Soar with Reading book vending machines will be available
through August 31, 2017, at the following locations:
- Joseph C. Carter Park | 1450 W.
Sunrise Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311
- Osswald Park | 2220 NW 21st
Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311
- Edgar P. Mills Multi-Purpose
Center | 900 NW 31st Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311
- Riverland Branch Library | 2710
Davie Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312
Online #BookBattle
Last summer, JetBlue’s vending machine program visited Detroit.
During that time, the annual online #BookBattle voting competition
also took place, where JetBlue’s customers and crewmembers and the
local community overwhelmingly voted for Fort Lauderdale to receive
100,000 free children’s books in 2017. This year, four
cities—Boston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco—will go
head-to-head in the national online #BookBattle to receive the 2018
donation. Voting is open at SoarwithReading.com through August 31.
For the first time, anyone who casts a vote online will also
receive a special 99¢ digital children’s book from Penguin Random
House.
Continuing the program’s investment in Detroit, a selection of
Random House Children’s Books titles will be donated to local
partners there throughout the summer.
Soar with Reading
Ambassadors
To celebrate the Soar with Reading launch, actress and singer
Victoria Justice and renowned Magic Tree House author Mary Pope
Osborne joined JetBlue, Random House Children’s Books, and
officials from the city of Fort Lauderdale at a celebration to
reveal the book vending machines and allow young residents to
select their first free books. Victoria Justice, a South Florida
native, and Mary Pope Osborne, whose bestselling series continues
this August with A Big Day for Baseball and the new nonfiction book
Baseball, will support the program throughout the summer by
encouraging participation in the #BookBattle. Random House
Children’s Book authors Judd Winick (Hilo series), R. J. Palacio
(Wonder), and Chris Grabenstein (Mr. Lemoncello’s Library series)
and illustrator Christian Robinson (Little Penguins) are also
active members of the campaign, helping to generate awareness for
the program and spark online voting in each #BookBattle city.
In 2011, JetBlue launched Soar with Reading to encourage kids’
imaginations to take flight through reading. Since its inception,
Soar with Reading has supplied more than $2,750,000 worth of books
to kids in need. Soar with Reading is a joint project of JetBlue
and Random House Children’s Books. For additional information,
visit SoarWithReading.com
Soar with Reading is a signature JetBlue For Good® program,
JetBlue’s platform for social impact and corporate responsibility.
Giving back is part of JetBlue’s DNA and is core to its mission of
inspiring humanity. Centered around volunteerism and service,
JetBlue For Good focuses on the areas that are most important to
the airline’s customers and crew members—community,
youth/education, and the environment. JetBlue’s core programs and
partnerships directly impact the areas where its customers and crew
members live and work by enhancing education and providing access
to those who are traditionally underserved. Signature programs
include Blue Horizons For Autism, which helps introduce air travel
in a realistic environment to families and children affected by
autism; and Swing For Good, which raises funds for education and
youth-focused nonprofits. Join the #JetBlueForGood conversation on
Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, check for regular updates, and get
involved.
ABOUT JETBLUE
JetBlue is New York’s Hometown Airline™ and a leading carrier in
Boston, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Los Angeles (Long Beach),
Orlando, and San Juan. JetBlue carries more than 38 million
customers a year to 101 cities in the U.S., Caribbean, and Latin
America, with an average of 1,000 daily flights. For more
information, please visit jetblue.com.
ABOUT RANDOM HOUSE CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Random House Children’s Books is the world’s largest
English-language children’s trade book publisher. Creating books
for toddlers through young adult readers, in all formats from board
books to activity books to picture books, novels, ebooks, and apps,
the imprints of Random House Children’s Books bring together
award-winning authors and illustrators, world-famous franchise
characters, and multimillion-copy series. The company’s website
Kids @ Random (rhcbooks.com) offers an array of activities, games,
and resources for children, teens, parents, and educators. Random
House Children’s Books is a division of Penguin Random House
LLC.
ABOUT INNOVATIVE VENDING SOLUTIONS
Innovative Vending Solutions specializes in nontraditional
vending and automated retail systems. IVS has been marketing and
providing its systems to manufacturers, retail outlets,
restaurants, nonprofits, and individuals since 2008. Their machines
are custom-manufactured, configured, and tested to meet the
specific needs of each client, whether a regional brand or a
national retailer. IVS machines are equipped with cutting-edge,
user-friendly technology and can be customized to fit any location,
brand, or event. For more information, visit
innovativevendingsolutions.com.
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