In a school of 300 low-income students, just one child owns a book, according to the First Lady of Tennessee.
During a speaking engagement Monday night, Crissy Haslam cited a national study and told members of the Junior League of Chattanooga that 61 percent of low-income families do not have a single book in the home.
“No children’s books, adult books or any kind of books in the home,” she said. “And you have probably heard this, but books at home are one of the main predictors of success [for children] in education and in all of life.”
How to donate
Books can be donated to the Read 20 Book Patrol at the Junior League of Chattanooga’s office, 622 E. Fourth St.
Haslam, a sustaining member of the Junior League of Knoxville, urged the JLC members gathered at the Loose Cannon event hall to collect books as a part of her Read 20 Book Patrol initiative.