The Santa Barbara Chapter of National Charity League, Inc. (NCL), a mother-daughter service organization recently donated 1,000 books to advance literacy in the community.
The contribution marked the nonprofit’s participation in the third annual National Day of Service, also recognized as Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, Jan. 15.
The Santa Barbara chapter gave books to Storyteller Children’s Center, Foothill Elementary School, Washington Elementary School, Vieja Valley Elementary School and Cleveland Elementary School.
To honor Dr. King’s legacy, this year’s focus on literacy was a way to address a critical need in local communities, NCL said.
According to the latest literacy survey by the National Literacy Trust (NLT), almost one in five children between ages five and eight do not have a book of their own at home. NCL’s goal is to provide access to reading and spark a lifelong love of reading.
The effort is in collaboration with chapters across the country. Last year, more than 12,000 NCL members gave 115,000 books.
“Our National Day of Service event was a huge success, we delivered more books than originally planned, positively impacting hundreds of children in our community,” said Lilia Hine, vice president/philanthropy of the NCL Santa Barbara Chapter. “We are thrilled with the outcome.”