May 10, 2008
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AIT to Handle Fulfillment for Jumpstart’s Read for the Record National Reading Campaign
Pearson Foundation Grant Provides Funds to Support Early Reading Program in Low-Income Communities
The Agency for Instructional Technology has a longstanding commitment to Early Childhood Education and Reading, so its newest partnership won’t come as any surprise to its customers. AIT will handle fulfillment services for Jumpstart’s Read for the Record, a national campaign to encourage hundreds of thousands of children and adults to read the same book, The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf, on the same day.
Pearson Foundation, a partner of Jumpstart and underwriter of the official Read for the Record campaign book, has chosen AIT to handle fulfillment and distribution of the books. The Foundation will match online donations made during Jumpstart’s Campaign now through Thursday, September 20, 2007, by giving copies of The Story of Ferdinand to special young people as a free gift. The Foundation is the nonprofit arm of Pearson Education, an educational publisher of Pre-K–12 materials. One of AIT’s core services is that of fulfillment and distribution for education.
“We’re very excited to be a part of this worthy cause,” said AIT’s Executive Director, Chuck Wilson. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to work with such a fine organization as the Pearson Foundation to support this early childhood reading initiative.”
In response to studies that have shown that one-third of American children enter kindergarten developmentally behind their peers and without the skills necessary to succeed at grade level, Jumpstart focuses on intervening early in the lives of at-risk children through intensive early education programs. Currently, preschool children from more than 60 low-income communities in 20 states are served by Jumpstart programs that help them develop language, literacy, and social skills in preparation for kindergarten. In 2006, the Read for the Record Campaign raised more than half a million dollars to support Jumpstart’s early education work in low-income communities. For more information about getting involved, visit www.readfortherecord.org.