| May
20, 2003
Laura Bush Foundation Awards Nearly $640,000 In Grants
To School Libraries
Grants Will Help 132 School Libraries Buy Books
VERNON,
Calif. – Today Laura Bush announced
the recipients of the inaugural grants from the Laura
Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries. To
mark the occasion, Mrs. Bush visited Vernon, California,
to meet with students, teachers and librarians at
Vernon City Elementary School, one of 132 schools
receiving grants for 2003. Selected from more than
6,000 applications, these schools, in 40 states, the
District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, will use the
funds to create or expand their book collections.
“A
love of books is key to developing a love of learning
and to building important skills,” said Mrs.
Bush. “These grants are the first of many that
will help ensure that every child has access to a
well-stocked library.”
Recipient
schools will receive grants of up to $5,000. Of these
award schools:
90 percent do not have sufficient funds to purchase
one book per student, per year
Most
schools cited an average age of more than 15 years
for books in their collections
Some
had books as old as 50 years in their collections
93
percent of students are eligible for free or reduced
priced meals
65
percent are elementary schools
27
percent are secondary schools
The
balance are K-12 schools
The
grant application process is administered by the Community
Foundation for the National Capital Region with guidance
from the Laura Bush Foundation Advisory Committee.
The grants are funded through generous donations from
individuals 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. The Laura Bush Foundation was officially
launched on June 4, 2002, during the White House Conference
on School Libraries. Grants from the Laura Bush Foundation
for America’s Libraries, a fund of the Community
Foundation for the National Capital Region, are designed
to help school libraries across the nation create
or enhance their book collections.
Vernon
City Elementary is a K-5, Title I school, serving
approximately 250 children. Vernon, California, is
a 5-square-mile industrial city and although 55,000
people work in Vernon, it is the state's least populated
city, a community with only 85 full-time residents
and one library at Vernon City Elementary. Because
this is the only library in the town, parents and
family members of students are allowed to borrow books.
A committee of teachers, parents and students will
select the books to be acquired with the Laura Bush
Foundation grant.
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