Article originally published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune

By Shannon Prather  

On the eve of summer vacation, two Minneapolis management consultants will give away 40,000 new books to Minneapolis first- and second-grade students — no strings attached.

They're convinced that free books can be a simple and inexpensive fix to the thorny problem of kids from poor households losing more reading skills over the summer than their middle-class peers.

As usual, we are very grateful for our wonderful partnership with Minneapolis Public Schools. Since day one, our local school district has supported Start Reading Now's mission whole-heartedly. 

On June 1st and 2nd we served 2,000 Minneapolis Public School 1st graders at the 28 schools with at least 50% of kids on free or reduced lunch. 

Atomic Data has vaulted us into the big leagues with a $45,000 donation to our cause, thanks to CEO Jim Wolford and his team! 

The Richard M. Schulze Foundation awarded Start Reading Now $15,000, providing a great start to our fundraising for the 2016 program! We plan to serve at least 1,000 kids in Minneapolis in 2016, in grades 1, 2 and 3.

An interview with Start Reading Now Co-Founder Kevin Terrell on NorthStar Oasis local access TV, hosted by Jeff Williams. We cover the origins of the program, including how Pam kick-started it all, along with our successes to date and plans for the future. 

Start Reading Now is excited to have received $16,500 from 97.1 Cities 97, as part of their annual charity fundraiser.