Thousands of children in ten northern Iowa counties could get books sent to their homes under a new program being sponsored by the United Way of Central Iowa. “Success by Six — Books for Kids” will let kids get a book every month, through their fifth birthday. Chapter director Karen Erlenbusch hopes the program impacts young children’s literacy rates. She says for every five children in the classroom, two aren’t reading at a fourth grade reading level.The cost per child is 27-dollars per year. Erlenbusch says parents will be able to sign their kids up for the program.Program coordinator Angie Carman says the program also helps those families where both parents work to make sure the opportunity for their kids to read is available. She says 88-percent of Iowa’s families have two of the parents out of the home working during the day, making it a challenge to find the time to find good books. She says this program helps them by providing the books.Counties involved in the program are: Butler, Cerro Gordo, Floyd, Franklin, Hancock, Kossuth, Mitchell, Winnebago, Worth and Wright.
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