Studies show the benefits of early reading habits stretch into a person's academic life and beyond. Unfortunately, without access to books, children from low-income families often don't get the same opportunities as children from wealthier families.
Books that are taken for granted may be considered a costly luxury in lower-income areas. While children from low-income neighborhoods have closer to one book for every three hundred kids, researchers have found middle-income kids have more than 10 books each, according to The Urban Child Institute.
The foundation, Books for Kids, was created to close that gap. More than three decades ago, a group of New Yorkers recognized that preschool-aged kids that don't have easy access to books are faced with enormous disadvantages when entering school. The foundation's mission is to promote literacy among all school-aged children, with an emphasis on low-income and at-risk kids.
Sitting on the board at Books for Kids are Wall Street veterans, educators and health professionals.
Guests of Books for Kids will ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.
