CHARLOTTE— WGU North Carolina, an affiliate of the national online nonprofit Western Governors University, and Families Forward Charlotte, a nonprofit organization committed to easing the burden of poverty on children and their families in Mecklenburg County, teamed up on May 20 to host a free book fair at Hornets Nest Elementary School in Charlotte. Students were able to visit the book fair and select age-appropriate reading materials to help build an interest in and love of reading and education.
The Free Book Fair was organized with the support of Promising Pages, a nonprofit organization that inspires underserved children to achieve their dreams by becoming bookworms. Each student was able to select five books, and an additional 1,500 books were donated to the school – totaling more than 5,100 books distributed.
Hornets Nest Elementary Principal Susan Wilson and Social Worker Rose Smith, MSW, SSW fully supported the Free Book Fair and expressed their gratitude to the sponsoring organizations. WGU North Carolina Program Mentor Holly Huffman, M.Ed. (also a Families Forward Charlotte board member) and Strategic Relationships Manager Dr. Cindy Garcia were on site to assist at the event and provide goodies to the teachers.
“The Free Book Fair was a huge success,” said Huffman. “The kids and teachers really enjoyed it, and we even connected with two WGU grads who teach at the school.”
For more information about WGU North Carolina, visit www.wgu.edu/north-carolina.html. To learn more about Families Forward Charlotte, visit www.familiesforwardcharlotte.org.
About Families Forward Charlotte
Families Forward Charlotte is a nonprofit organization committed to easing the burden of poverty on children and their families in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. We are providing essential goods, educational programs, a comprehensive list of resources, and assistance in navigating existing resources. The organization’s goal is to establish long-term stability for the children and families we serve.
About Promising Pages
Promising Pages is a nonprofit organization that inspires underserved children to achieve their dreams by becoming bookworms. Our mission is to provide ownership of books to underserved children and cultivate a lifelong love of reading through innovative literacy programs and partnerships. Fueled by studies showing that children who can’t read proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school, Promising Pages provides innovative classroom programs and more than 100,000 free books annually, making us Charlotte’s largest and most efficient distributor of upcycled books aimed at addressing this critical – and solvable – community need.
