On Monday, our nation will not only celebrate the start of summer but also National Summer Learning Day, a day to observe the importance of summer learning. Studies show that “more than half of the achievement gap between lower- and higher-income youth can be explained by unequal access to summer learning opportunities.”*

To help fight this “summer slide,” The UPS Store franchisees in Washington, D.C., and the Toys for Tots Literacy Program last month donated 1,200 books to five elementary schools, one age-appropriate book for each student to take home and enjoy over the summer.

I work on the Toys for Tots Literacy Program day in and day out; it’s very important to me and the work I do. Yet from time to time, I am awarded the opportunity to see the program in action, to see the sparkle in the eye of a child when they receive a book of their very own or when they talk about their favorite story. This is how I know that all the work I put into the program is worth it!

My words aren’t as powerful as seeing it for yourself. I encourage you to watch the video so you, too, can see what I witnessed that day.

Summer camp, beach vacations, baseball games and the neighborhood pool are all apart of being a kid in the summertime. But let’s not forget the power of a book, the journey that a child can take without leaving their room.

* Alexander et al, 2007.