Denver7 hosted its sixth book fair at Kenton Elementary School in Aurora on Tuesday, April 21, marking a significant milestone in the station's ongoing partnership with the school through the If You Give A Child A Book program. Each student received five free books to add to their home libraries, bringing the total number of books distributed to each Kenton student to 30 over the past three years.
The book fair featured Denver7 team members, including Lionel Bienvenu, Clara Faith, Ryan Fish, Lauren Lennon and Jayson Luber, who read to students and helped them navigate the selection of books tailored to their reading levels and interests. The event created an atmosphere of excitement and discovery as students explored titles across various genres and age groups.
The Denver7 team was joined by team members from BOK Financial at the book fair. BOK Financial is a sponsor if the If You Give A Child A Book program. Together, the volunteers helped students select their books and led story time sessions in both English and Spanish.
"This partnership with Kenton Elementary represents exactly what our If You Give a Child a Book program is designed to accomplish," said Kristin Stork, Denver7’s director of strategic partnerships. "Over six book fairs, we've been able to build meaningful relationships with students, teachers and staff, while ensuring every child has access to books at home."
The If You Give a Child a Book program operates in partnership with the Scripps Howard Fund and Scholastic to identify schools that serve students and families who may lack access to books at home. Denver7 hosts Scholastic book fairs at these schools with the goal of providing each student with 10 books annually to build their personal libraries.
Research consistently shows that children with access to books at home demonstrate improved literacy rates and academic performance. The program addresses this need by ensuring students have age-appropriate reading materials available beyond the classroom.
To learn more about the If You Give a Child a Book program or to make a donation, visit www.Denver7.com/GiveABook.
Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.