Give Me 5 Cause Campaign

give me 5 facebook logo

BCG is dedicated to making sure reading a priority in communities across the county, we believe that if youth read at least 5 minutes everyday, they will discover the unprecedented joy of reading and fight the crippling effects that illiteracy places on our society. Recognizing the direct correlation of a lack of literacy to increasing prison populations and poverty BCG knows that Give Me 5 is a necessary endeavor. Our goal is to work with schools, celebrity influencers, youth programs and community organizations to provide free books and inspire youth as well as their parents across the country to take the pledge of reading at least 5 minutes everyday. Give Me 5 hopes to not only prepare, but also motivate children to read by delivering free books and literacy resources to those children and families who need them most.

Program Goals

  • Provide free books and pledge rewards to children and their families who reach their pledge goals.
  • Engage, Inspire and Motivate youth to read.
  • Cultivate a community of support for all youth who take the pledge.

The Pledge

Youth pledge to read for a desired amount of time within a specified time-frame. Youth then select one to two free books to get them started on their reading journey. Everyday for 60 days we will raffle off prizes to youth at random who have taken the pledge!  Prizes include: Movie Tickets, Foot Locker Gift Cards, Concert Tickets, Six Flags Tickets, Monster Products + more! Plus two winners will have the chance to a once in a lifetime experience to have dinner with a celebrity.

Family, School and Community involvement: BCG’s Give Me 5 program will provide free resources and support to families, teachers and community volunteers. For example, summerprograms can request pledge forms and certificates to award students for reading as well as free books.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PLEDGE FORM

The Facts:

  • 42 million American adults can not read.
  • 50 million adults are unable to read at higher than a fourth or fifth grade level.
  • America spends more money on literacy than any other country in the world. Currently, the federal government spends about $10 billion every year on literacy. But it is not working… Studies have shown that the percentage of American children who are able to read well hasn’t improved at all in the last 25 years.
  • Only 11% of black males in the 4th grade read at or above a 4th grade level.
  • 85% of all juvenile offenders rate as functionally or marginally illiterate.
  • 20% of high school seniors can be classified as being functionally illiterate at the time they graduate.
  • 70% of US prisoners are classified as illiterate.
  • 43% of people who live below the poverty line are functionally illiterate.

Source: National Institute for Literacy

Have Questions or Want to Support? We are currently seeking new and used books as well as prizes for our winning youth! We’d love to hear from you!

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Tell us about your nominee, please include their social media handles and website!