13,000 Books Donated to U.S. Children Affected by Iraq and Afghanistan Conflict
Today, the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict announced a partnership between Little Talentum, an education company focusing on the early childhood years, and the Armed Services YMCA, which helps thousands of military children who have been separated from a parent serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. As part of the collaboration, Little Talentum donated over $200,000 in books and teacher training materials to the Armed Services YMCA. The 13,000 books will be used to support three programs:
- The Preschool program serves nearly 4,000 children and their parents in medium to low income families, starting the children on their educational journey by focusing on the development positive parent and child relationships.
- Operation Hero is an after school enrichment program designed to address issues faced by young military youth.
- United Through Reading provides children’s books and video tapes for deploying units allowing deployed Marines and Sailors to connect with their children through video tapes of reading from First Books. After recording reading the book, both the tape and book are then sent home for the child to listen and follow along in the book.
“The Armed Services YMCA is extremely grateful for the Little Talentum Book Donation. The value of reading cannot be stressed enough. Armed with the ability to read, a child can be transported to thousands of places, limited only by their imagination,” stated Susan Simms of ASYMCA.
“At Little Talentum, we are so excited about this opportunity because we share the same mission of enhancing people's potential and strengthening the family. We are very enthusiastic to support the lives of these young children,” stated Valeria Fontanals, co-founder of the company.
Last June, the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict announced a gift from the Jolie-Pitt Foundation to support the Armed Services YMCA Operation Hero programs as part of a larger million-dollar gift to support children affected by the conflict in Iraq, both in the United States and in the Middle East. The initial Jolie-Pitt Foundation gift inspired Little Talentum to also partner with the Armed Services YMCA for this project.
Co-founded by Angelina Jolie and Gene Sperling in 2006, the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict now connects over 40 organizations working to help the millions of children affected by conflict learn and build brighter futures for themselves and their countries.
Little Talentum is an educational company dedicated to promoting excellence in early childhood education.
Visit the Little Talentum website»
Armed Services YMCA helps thousands of military children who have been separated from a parent serving in Iraq - and many who have lost a parent - keep their balance in school with tutors, counseling, and support.
Donate Now to ASYMCA Operation Hero »
