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Former
First Lady Laura Bush presents grants, |
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Former First Lady Laura Bush believes that helping children to develop a love for literacy is something that will last them a lifetime. It is a gift she wanted to share personally with six schools in the Pasadena Independent School District. The Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries announced that 158 school libraries are being awarded $851,524 in grants for 2009. She joined the foundation in making the announcement at a special ceremony at Richey Elementary School. Richey is receiving its second foundation grant, while Jackson Intermediate, Pomeroy Elementary, Rick Schneider Middle School, San Jacinto Intermediate, South Shaver Elementary and The Summit were awarded $6,000 grants.
In addition to presenting the grants, Bush also took time to read to Tammy Sawyer’s class of kindergarten students. Bush asked the students which books they liked and she replied “that it is so wonderful to see so many boys and girls that are so excited about reading.”
The grant application process is administered by the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region with guidance from the Laura Bush Foundation’s Advisory Committee. The grants are funded through generous donations to the endowment from individuals, corporations and foundations. The mission of the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries is to support the education of our nation’s children by providing funds to update, extend and diversify the book and print collections of America’s school libraries. Further information is available at www.laurabushfoundation.org
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“We are
absolutely thrilled that Mrs. Bush was able to share this news with
us personally,” said Kay McBride, Pasadena ISD’s coordinator of
library services. “Her generous gifts will ignite that spark and
love for reading among so many children in our district. We are
eternally grateful to her and the Laura Bush Foundation for making a
difference in the lives of our students.”
The Laura Bush
Foundation for America’s Libraries was founded in 2002 as a fund of
the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region. Since its
inception, the Laura Bush Foundation has awarded more than $6.2
million to 1,245 schools in all 50 states, the District of Columbia,
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In addition to these
yearly grants, the Foundation has also awarded more than $4.7
million to school libraries in the Gulf Coast region to rebuild
their library book collections that were lost or destroyed by
hurricanes or storms.