About Us

Mission Statement

To promote literacy and motivate children to read by building at-home libraries for underserved children in Greater Los Angeles.

Challenge

“If, at the current pace, America continues to lose the habit of regular reading, the nation will suffer substantial economic, social, and civic setbacks.”

                                                  … Dana Gioia, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts

As Los Angeles faces the strains of an economic downturn, it is more important than ever to invest in the literacy of our children and give them the skills they need to succeed in an increasingly competitive world. 

Did you know that…

              … 60% of kindergarteners in low-income families do not have a single age-appropriate book in their home?

              … The only behavior measure that correlates significantly with reading scores is the number of books in the home? 

              … Reading for pleasure correlates strongly with academic achievement?

              … 90% of children living in poverty in Los Angeles have parents with “low or no” literacy skills?

Reading Is Fundamental of Southern California’s primary goal is to compel children to read by putting books of choice in the hands of those who otherwise would not have access to them - books they will be excited to read purely for pleasure.  We seek to create a culture of literacy and an environment that supports it by building the home libraries of children and fostering a community that rallies around literacy. 

Please DREAM with us.  We cannot realize our 200,000 Dreams Campaign without you!

History

Reading Is Fundamental of Southern California will have an enormous impact on children, families, and communities in 2010-2011.  Believing that the achievement of all children must matter to all of us, more than 300,000 new, free books of choice will be shared with over 100,000 children in 285 economically disadvantaged schools, Head Start sites and social service programs all over Greater Los Angeles.

In 1966, former teacher Margaret McNamara brought a bag of used books to four boys in Washington, D.C. whom she tutored in reading.  When she told the children they could each pick out a book to keep, their astonishment and delight led her to discover that these children, and many of their classmates, had never owned a single book.  By that summer, Mrs. McNamara had gathered a group of school volunteers, and on November 3, 1966, Reading Is Fundamental became a reality.  This original book distribution and reading program is now the largest children’s literacy organization in the nation.

Reading Is Fundamental of Southern California started in 1972 and has grown to become the largest multi-site program.  As an independent 501c3 organization with its own Board of Directors, Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, we have been cited as a model for running a successful multi-site program by RIF and both our volunteers and programs have received national recognition for their excellence.  In June 2007, we received Program Excellence Honors from national RIF in a ceremony in Washington, D.C.  Only 25 of RIF’s more than 4,100 chapters received this honor.

We have attained our Dream of reaching over 100,000 kids with new, free, beautiful books. Our next goal is to reach 200,000 kids by 2016. Thank you to all who have helped make this dream come true!

Please DREAM with us.  We cannot realize our 200,000 Dreams Campaign without you!