The Ford Motor Company Fund, working with a non-profit named First Book, is donating 10,000 new books to Detroit Public Schools educating kids from kindergarten through elementary grades. The Ford philanthropic arm celebrated today with a special reading party at the Ford Resource and Engagement Center, hosting 65 third-grade students from Amelia Earhart Elementary School.
Former boxer Oscar De La Hoya, who founded a charitable foundation to provide pathways to education to underprivileged youth, read to the children from his book, Super Oscar.
“Reading is a fundamental skill that needs to begin at an early age,” he says. “Unfortunately, not all children have access to books in their community. I am honored and excited to be a part of an initiative that educates and inspires the kids of Detroit to get excited about reading books every day.”
The 10,000-book donation is part of the Ford Driving Dreams education initiative, launched in 2012. The program has affected some 75,000 students in California, Illinois, Indiana, Florida, Texas, and Panama with resources such as scholarships, grants, and book donations like this one.
“Education is central to our mission of improving people’s lives,” says Ford Fund President Jim Vella. “Encouraging our young people to read and explore the world through books is a tremendous way to empower future generations and enable them to reach their full potential.”
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