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ABC Action News donating thousands of books to preschool kids

Annual donation part of National Reading Day
Posted at 6:06 PM, Jan 23, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-23 18:06:00-05

TAMPA, Fla. — ABC Action News is taking action for Tampa Bay Area kids, giving away thousands of books on National Reading Day.

The donation is now an annual event in which ABC Action News partners with the Scripps Howard Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the station's parent company, through a program called "If you give a child a book."

This year ABC Action News employees donated over $4,700 of their own money, and with a matching donation by the Scripps Howard Donation, raised a total of $8,453 to purchase a grand total of 3,400 books for kids.

The entire lot of donated books is going to the Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County, an organization that helps match families to pre-school programs for their kids, and also provides a free book to every child that comes into their office to get connected to programs and financial assistance.

The Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County has a "Book Garden" they started in 2017 where kids can take a free book home with them, located at their main office at 6800 N. Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa.

ABC Action News anchors Lindsay Logue and Jamison Uhler helped deliver books to preschool kids in Hillsborough County with the help of their own preschool children, and each anchor read a book to a group of preschoolers to demonstrate the joy of reading and talk about the ability books have to empower our lives.

Scripps Company newsrooms are taking part in the donation event across the country, donating over 100,000 books in just two years.

ABC Action News in Tampa Bay took part in the event last year as well, donating books to the Tampa Junior League for elementary school kids.