SANBORN, N.Y. — The United Way of Greater Niagara (UWGN) is now part of a national literacy program that aims to get more diverse books into the hands of children in diverse communities.
UWGN was selected to be part of Little Free Library’s Read in Color Spring 2024 cohort.
"Having a book is great to build literacy skills, to do better in school, but having a book that features a character that looks like you or that's written by an author that looks like you ... that really makes a difference so kids can see themselves represented in the books they read and grow up believing they can achieve," said William Briggs, Marketing and Business Development Associate at UWGN.
Little Free Library, a nonprofit headquartered in St. Paul, Minn., developed Read in Color in 2020 as a way to create meaningful change following George Floyd's murder. The program has expanded to more than 14 cities across the country, and to date, more than 50,000 diverse books have been granted.
The United Way of Greater Niagara is the first Read in Color program provider in New York State outside of New York City.
"Especially in the last year we're really, really focused on building up the next generation of youth by making sure they have resources that represent them. That just removes another obstacle for people to feel confident in themselves and in their community and know their community really cares about them," Briggs said.
Books distributed through Read in Color provide perspectives on racial and social injustice, celebrate Black and Indigenous people of color as well as the LGBTQ+ community and other marginalized voices. The hope is to increase understanding, empathy, and inclusion.
Right now the United Way of Greater Niagara has four spots to pick up free books, and more are on the way.
- Youth Mentoring Services of Niagara County Inc. - 86 Park Avenue, Lockport
- Boys & Girls Clubs of the Northtowns Newman Family Clubhouse - 325 Franklin Street, Tonawanda
- Niagara Falls Boys & Girls Club - 725 17th Street, Niagara Falls
- United Way of Greater Niagara office - 6420 Inducon Drive West, Suite B2, Sanborn
"If you have a book you want to share, you can bring a book to the library and drop it off. We're going to make sure on the back end that even if people are just taking books home with them, keeping books in their home, that's great! We will continue to fill those libraries with even more diverse books," said Briggs.