Book Donation Fosters a Love of Books
By Office of Communication
Posted on March 03, 2014, March 03, 2014

Children at Foster Elementary lined up Feb. 21 to get their hands on a brand new, free set of books ranging from Dr. Seuss' Hop on Pop to the popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.

Each of the nearly 800 students received four books from KPMG LLC, an international tax, audit and advisory firm, as part of the company's literacy initiative.

KPMG's Blue for Books program donates books each time its sponsors and professional golfers Phil Mickelson and Stacy Long win a tournament.

This program selected Foster to receive books after Mickelson won the Scottish Open last July.

Principal Jacquelyn McClendon said Foster's faculty and staff want every child to read for enjoyment.

"One thing we share every morning is about that success rate-every student, every day," she said. "We're excited that KPMG is on our team now providing additional books and joining in our literacy effort."

School Librarian Pat Henry said students have checked out over 3,000 books so far this year.

"You get the kids that are not big readers and you find something they like," Henry said. "I found that once I got them into the graphic novels, boy they were hooked."

McClendon said this program will help the children start a library collection of their own and share their love of learning with family members.

The Foster Library also underwent a mini-makeover funded by KPMG, including a commissioned mural depicting different literary genres and four potted plants to spruce up the space.

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