Nice NY Times piece on First Book and what they do

A Book in Every Home, and Then Some

When we imagine people without books, we think of villagers in places like Afghanistan. But many families in the United States have no children’s books at home. In some of the poorest areas of the country, it’s hard to find books for sale. A study (pdf) of low-income neighborhoods in Philadelphia, for example, found a ratio of one book for sale for every 300 children. Tens of millions of poor Americans can’t afford to buy books at all.

The literacy project I participate in, Reach Out and Read puts books into the hands of children 6 months to five years old each time they come to our clinic. I'm pretty sure some of those books have come from First Book in the past. These types of programmes are vital for making sure children whose families cannot afford to buy books are raised in a print-rich environment, which studies say improves reading and performance in school, among other things.

Thanks again to Steven, of Library Stuff, for the link.