We all know that reading is important, and the earlier we can instill a love of reading and create a habit of reading in children, the better our community will be.

Our passion at The Clackamas Bookshelf is to make sure that all kids have books in their homes. We provide free books to low-income children in Clackamas County, with the understanding that widespread access to books offers positive, long-term benefits to our entire community. Since 2014, we have distributed more than 207,000 books to underserved children in the community.

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Research shows that having age-appropriate books in the home provides a vital head start to children of every age and income level.

• Students who are not proficient readers by the end of 3rd grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school.

• In Clackamas County, 47.8% of 3rd grade students are not reading at grade level (2018). 

• Children who start Kindergarten with limited exposure to reading are still performing below their peers on reading assessment tests by 4th grade.

• Thirty-three percent of entering Oregon kindergarteners could name five or few letters and 14% couldn’t name a single letter.
   

We want to change this forever. And that change begins with a book.

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