SINCLAIR CARES: SUPPORTING CHILDREN’S LITERACY

Campaign Summary

Sinclair was proud to partner with Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the nation’s leading children’s literacy nonprofit, for a company-wide community service campaign, Sinclair Cares: Supporting Children’s Literacyfor the month of March 2024 to coincide with National Reading Month. 

Statistics show one in three childrenentering kindergarten lack the basic skills they need to learn to read, and two-thirds of U.S fourth gradersdo not read at grade level*.  

Sinclair’s literacy campaign created awareness around children’s literacy challenges and helped get books into the hands of children across the U.S. through a virtual book drive.  

Since 1966, Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), has provided nearly 430 million books and reading resources to over 160 million children. RIF is committed to inspiring the joy of reading to create more motivated and engaged readers and ultimately putting children on a path to reading proficiency. RIF partners with educators, families, and literacy advocates to bring books and reading resources to children in the communities that need them the most-and in the process, creates new generations of lifelong readers. 

As part of the campaign, Sinclair Cares: Supporting Children’s Literacy featured a virtual book drive whereby viewers nationwide supported the campaign. 

Research validates RIF’s model of impact that giving children choice and access to own new, age-appropriate books is positively tied to improved reading behaviors, writing performance, language development, and academic performance in other subjects. Sixty-one percent of U.S. children living at or below the poverty line have no books at home**. A $4 donation helps get a new book to a child in the nation’s most under-resourced communities. 

The Sinclair Cares: Supporting Children’s Literacy campaign was supported through public service campaigns across Sinclair’s television stations. 

In partnership with RIF, Sinclair produced content aired throughout March, and Sinclair also produced a 30-minute special to raise awareness around the issue. The special focused on the state of children’s literacy in the U.S., with interviews from RIF executives, literacy experts, educators and local students, and aired on Sinclair’s television stations March 21-31. The stations also streamed a 60-minute version of the special on their respective websites. 

Also, during the campaign, on-air talent from Sinclair’s local stations read to students in schools and libraries in their respective markets in support of Read Across America. 

In addition, the Sinclair Cares: Supporting Children’s Literacy campaignwas supported by a $25,000 donation from Sinclair. 

*National Assessment of Educational Progress scores (2022)